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GENERAL GEORGE WASHINGTON, 
^Commander-in-chief of the Patriot Armies^ 



THE BATTLES 



OF THE 



War for Independence 



BEING THE STORY OF THE REVOLUTIONARY 

WAR and THE WAR OF 1812, TO WHICH IS 

ADDED THE BA TTLES IN MEXICO. 



PRESCOXX HOLMES 



With Seventy Illustrations. 



PHILADELPHIA *^^ "^ ^ 

HENRY ALTEMUS 



W 



Copyrighted by Henry Altevius, of Philadelphia, in the State of Pennsyl- 
vania, on June 4, iSqi , in the One Hundred and Twentieth Year of 
the Independence of the United States of America. 



Henry Altemus, Manufacturer, 
philadelphia. 



PREFACE. 



Of the various subjects forming portions of the 
history of a nation, none has been so generally accept- 
able to young people as the record of its wars. The 
school histories of the country must necessarily be 
brief in their descriptions of the various movements of 
the armies, and the various conflicts in which they 
have been engaged. It would exceed the limits of a 
work of this nature to attempt any relation of all the 
skirmishes in our country's history, but we have en- 
deavored to bring together the story of the decisive 
events, and the resulting effects. 

The little Eastern States, thickening with popula- 
tion, had to find an outlet in the direction of the West. 
Those fertile sections were greedily coveted by the new 
settlers, and quietly appropriated ; and the Red man 
was pushed along in the direction of sunset. He per- 
sisted in cherishing his natural hatred of the interlopers 
upon his hunting-grounds, and his villages became the 
encampments of resentment, discontent, and meditated 
vengeance. 

We have made no attempt to recount the numberless 
battles with the Indians. After their own fashion they 
fought for their homes, their property, their families, 
and their rights. They were sometimes armed — but 
never had ficid-^xQCQS, — and the result of the fighting 
was never doubtful. 

(5) 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER I. IN AND AROUND BOSTON . . .9 

The "Tea Party's" Demonstration — Continental Congress 
— Franklin and the Colonial Agents — General Gage — Sir 
William Howe — John Adams — Battles at Lexington and Con- 
cord — The Minute Men — Bunker's Hill — Putnam and Prescott 
— Death of Joseph Warren — Siege of Boston — George Wash- 
ington Assumes Command — Henry Knox — The Evacuation 
of Boston by the British — New York. 

CHAPTER II. TICONDEROGA AND CROWN POINT. , 5 1 

Samuel Adams — John Hancock — Ethan Allen — The Green 
Mountain Boys — Benedict Arnold — Capture of Ticonderoga 
— Crown Point Taken — Skenesborough — Attack on St. Johns. 

CHAPTER III. IN AND AROUND NEW YORK . .57 

Declaration of Independence Adopted and Read to the Army 
— New York City — Howe's Fleet Arrives — Washington — 
Clinton — Cornwallis — Hessians — Battles on Long Island — 
Greene and Sullivan — Harlem Heiglits — Fort Washington — 
Retreat through New Jersey. 

CHAPTER IV. THE EXPEDITIONS AGAINST CANADA . 63 
General Schuyler — Richard Montgomery — St. Johns — Ethan 
Allen Attempts to Surprise Montreal — Is Defeated, Captured, 
and sent Ironed to England — Carleton and the Indian Allies 
— Fort Chambly Captured — Montreal surrenders — Arnold's 

(V) 



vi CONTENTS. 

Journey Through Maine — Quebec Assaulted — The Patriots 
Repulsed — Aaron Burr — Death of Montgomery — Arnold 
Wounded — General Wooster — The Patriots Abandon Canada. 

CHAPTER V. IN AND AROUND PHILADELPHIA . . 8l 

Crossing the Delaware — Battle at Trenton — Defeat of the 
Hessians — Battle at Princeton — Cornwallis Abandons Jersey 
— Battle at Brandywine — British Occupy Philadelphia — Battle 
at Germantown — Valley Forge. 

CHAPTER VI. THE CAMPAIGN AT THE NORTH . . 98 

Burgoyne — Indian Allies — Ticonderoga Evacuated — Fort 
Edward — Battle at Bennington — Generals Stark and Gates — 
Bemis's Heights — Battles of Saratoga — Kosciusko — Arnold 
Wounded — Morgan — Lincoln — Burgoyne's Surrender — Ti- 
conderoga and Crown Point Evacuated by the British. 

CHAPTER Vn. THE STORMING OF STONY POINT . II5 

Baron Steuben — Clinton — Washington and Anthony Wayne 
— Stony Point Captured. 

CHAPTER VIII. THE CAMPAIGNS AT THE SOUTH . 1 24 
Clinton Carries the War South — Savannah Attacked and Re- 
duced — Lincoln Takes Command of the Patriot Forces in 
the South — D'Estaing and His French Fleet — The Siege of 
Savannah Abandoned — Siege of Charleston by Clinton — 
Cornwallis Arrives — Charleston Surrenders — Clinton Returns 
to New York Leaving Cornwallis in Command — Battle at 
Camden — Death of DeKalb — General Gates Removed — 
Battle at Cowpens — Morgan and Carleton — Battle at Guil- 
ford — The Siege of Yorktown — French Fleet and Count 
De Grasse — Count Rochambeau — Washington Moves South 
— Naval Battle Between the French and British Fleets — Corn- 
wallis Hemmed In — Cornwallis Surrenders — The Independ- 
ence of the United States Acknowledged. 



CONTENTS. vii 

CHAPTER IX. THE REVOLUTIONARY BATTLES ON SEA. 1 54 
The First Naval Action at Machias — Loss of tlie Raleigh — 
Capture of the Hawk and the Pigot — John Paul Jones — The 
Set-aphis and the Scarborough captured. 

CHAPTER X. THE WAR OF 1812-1815 . . .169 
Jefferson and the Embargo Act — The Leopard and the Chesa- 
peake — War Declared — Dearborn Commands the Land 
Forces — Lower Canada Attacked — General Hull Surrenders 
Detroit to General Brock — Fort Dearborn at Chicago Evac- 
uated — The Troops Massacred by the Indians — Another Ex- 
pedition to Upper Canada Repulsed — The Essex Junto — 
General W. H. Harrison — Madison Becomes President — The 
Army Increased and a Navy Ordered Built — Defeat and 
Massacre at Frenchtown — Tecumseh — Repulse of the British 
Before Fort Meigs — Toronto Captured and Sacked — The 
British Destroy Plattsburg on Lake Champlain — Perry's Vic- 
tory on Lake Erie — General Harrison's Victories — Jackson 
Battles with and Defeats the Indians — The British Squadron 
Defeated on Lake Champlain — Washington Burned — Balti- 
more Attacked — Fort McHenry Attacked — The British Re- 
pulsed and Move South — The New England Coasts Bom- 
barded and Villages Destroyed — The British in the Gulf of 
Mexico — Louisiana Invaded — Jackson at New Orleans — The 
British Defeated and Packenham Killed — Peace Declared. 

CHAPTER XI. THE SEA BATTLES OF 1812-1815 . 209 

The Constitution and Guerriere — The Waip and the Frolic — 
The United States and the Macedonian — The Constitution 
and the yava — The Hornet and the Peacock — The Chesa- 
peake and the Shannon — The Argus and the Pelican — The 
Enterprise and the Boxer — Perry and the Battle of Lake Erie 
— The Loss of the Essex — The Loss of the President — The 



viii CONTENTS. 

Capture of the Cyane and the Levant — The Capture of the 
Penotiin — Our Privateers — General Results. 

CHAPTER XII. THE MEXICAN WAR .... 254 
Texas and the Mexican Empire — General Houston and 
President Jackson — President Tyler — Texas Received as a 
State — Mexico Declares War — Zachary Taylor Takes Com- 
mand of Our Forces in Mexico — The Battles in Mexico — 
Santa Anna — General Fremont and California — General 
Scott Places the Flag Over the Palace of the Montezumas 
— President Polk — Peace Proclaimed — Agreements with 
Mexico. 



THE BATTLES OF AMERICA. 



CHAPTER I. 
In and Around Boston (1775-1776). 

The troubles that had for so long existed between 
the colonies and the mother country culminated with the 
Boston " Tea Party's " demonstration of independence. 
When the news reached England that 342 chests of 
tea had been cast overboard, a howl of rage went up 
from the King, his Ministers, and the merchants. The 
port of Boston was declared closed against all com- 
merce till the tea should be paid for. The colonists 
realized that if the port of Boston could be closed, all 
the ports from New Hampshire to Georgia could also 
be closed, and the trade of the entire country ruined. 
The Northern and Southern States were drawn together 
by this new danger. " Don't pay for an ounce of their 
damned tea," was the message sent by Georgia's 
governor to the patriots of Boston. This voiced the 
general feeling of the entire community. Samuel and 
John Adams, Patrick Henry, and James Otis by their 
stirring and patriotic speeches aroused the people over 
the whole land. 

Monday, September 5, 1774, was a great and impor- 
tant day in the annals of English America. It was the 
day on which the Congress of the United Provinces met 
in solemn session at Philadelphia. The Continental 
Congress had been a great success. Its counsels and 

(9) 



lO 



THE BATTLES OF AMERICA. 



resolves were ratified by all but one of the Provincial 
Congresses and Legislative Assemblies, and it was very 
generally felt that a protest of the most authentic and 
weighty kind possible had been made against the 
encroachments of the mother country. New York 
refused, in its representative chamber, to recognize 
what had been done and affirmed at Philadelphia. 
Here a large and influential class was imbued with 
royalist principles. Many of the rich colonists were 




INDEPENDENCE HALL IN I776. 



connected with families of distinction in England, and 
New York City had been the headquarters of the 
British army in America. 

The soul of the movement now rapidly leading to 
rebellion was undoubtedly Massachusetts ; but Virginia 
had also a large share in the work of revolution. The 
petition of the Continental Congress was presented to 
King George III by Benjamin Franklin and the agents 
of Massachusetts only, the other colonial representa- 



IN AND AROUND BOSTON. 



II 



tives refusing to join. The King promised that it 
should be presented to Parliament, and in the mean- 
while the professional politicians talked the matter 
over, with little agreement as to what should be done. 
The King remained firm in his policy of simple and 
unrelieved coercion. 




BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 

In February, 1775, it was resolved to raise the British 
army in Boston to 10,000 men, and to supersede 
General Gage by a general of greater capacity. The 
post was offered to Amherst, but he refused the com- 
mand, unless he was placed at the head of 20,000 
troops. It was next offered to General Oglethorpe, 



12 



THE BA TTLES OF AMERICA. 



who would undertake the task only on condition of 
being furnished with powers of concession and con- 




GEORGE III, KING OF ENGLAND. 



ciliation, which were denied him. The post was finally 
accepted by Sir William Howe. 

Under his command, Howe had two Major-Generals 
whose names became conspicuous in our history — Henry 



IN AND AROUND BOSTON. 



13 



Clinton and John Burgoyne. Clinton was a scion of 
the ducal houses of New Castle and Bedford, and son 
of a former colonial Governor of New York. While 
Burgoyne's military abilities were not of the highest 
order, they were respectable, and his courage was 




JOHN ADAMS. 
(^Afterwards President of the United States.) 

beyond reproach. Howe had no reason to be discon- 
tented with either of his subordinates. 

Every week added to the enthusiasm of the people, 
and Massachusetts still kept the lead. At a second 
interview with the American Commissioners John 
Adams was the spokesman, and said : " If Great 



I A THE BATTLES OF AMERICA. 

Britain were united, she could not subdue a country 
a thousand leagues off. How many years, how many 
millions, did it take to conquer the poor province of 
Canada ? " * * * He denied that the Parliament of 
England had authority over America. It had none by 
Old or New Testament law ; none by the law of nature 
or of nations ; none by the common law of England, 
nor by statute law. 

The winter wore away in preparations for strife on 
both sides ; but these preparations were far more 
vigorous on the part of the colonists than on that of 
the British officials. Assistance flowed into Massa- 
chusetts from the other colonies, and a determination 
to die in defense of the common liberty was very 
generally expressed. In the North, Gage looked on 
with indolent good nature which he occasionally varied 
by unsuccessful attempts at severity. The colonists 
lost no opportunity of irritating the authorities by every 
demonstration of their sentiment which it was possible 
to make. The military were insulted with the utmost 
elaboration of studied affront. Any one considered as 
favoring the Government was liable to intimidation and 
to actual outrage. The royalist sympathizers were 
mobbed and terrified, and it was no uncommon spectacle 
to see a particularly obnoxious individual, after being 
treated to a coat of tar and feathers, ridden on a rail out 
of the town. 

Lexington. — General Gage, learning that the " Com- 
mittee of Supplies " appointed by the Provincial Con- 
gress of Massachusetts Avere gathering military stores 
at Concord, sent about 8oo men, under Colonel Smith 
and Major Pitcairn, to destroy them. Attempts of this 
character had been expected, and a strict watch was 
kept ; and as signals were concerted to announce the first 
movement of troops for the country, a timely message 



1 6 THE BATTLES OF AMERICA. 

from Warren led the Committee to remove a part of the 
stores and to secrete the cannon. 

On April 1 8, 1775, ten sergeants in disguise spread 
themselves through Cambridge, and farther west to in- 
tercept all communication. In the following njo-ht the 
grenadiers and light infantry crossed in boats to East 
Cambridge and took the road through West Cambridge 
to Concord. ° 

"They will miss their aim," said one of a party 
who observed their departure. "What aim!" asked 
Lord Percy, who overheard the remark. " The cannon 
at Concord," was the answer. Percy hastened to Gao-e 
with the news, who directed that no one should be 
allowed to leave the town. But Warren had already 
despatched William Dawes through Roxbury, and Paul 
Revere by way of Charlestown to Lexington 

Revere was stopped by two British officers, but beine 
mounted on a fine horse he escaped. As he rode 
through Medford he aroused the Captain of the Minute- 
men, and stopping at almost every house on his way to 
Lexington, the inhabitants were prepared to discharge 
the important duty which was rapidly devolving upon 
tnem. Dawes reached Lexington in safety. 

The two friends were joined by Samuei Prescott— 
an active Son of Liberty— 2.^6. the three rode forward 
ca ling up the people as they passed along, till in Lin- 
coln they fell in with a party of British officers Re- 
vere and Dawes were seized and taken back to Lex- 
ington where they were released, but Prescott escaped 
and galloped on towards Concord, spreading the alarm 
along the road, and in the villages through which he 
passed. 

He reached Concord about two o'clock in the morn- 
mg, and the alarm bell, on the belfry of the meet- 
mg-house, brought together the inhabitants, young and 
old, with their firelocks, ready to make good the 







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1 8 THE BATTLES OF AMERICA. 

resolute words of their town debates. Messengers 
hurried out to distant villages, or hurried away the stores 
and provisions, and secreted them in the woods and 
thickets, a load in a place. 

At Lexington, by two o'clock, the village green was 
thronged with excited men. The aged stood shoulder 
to shoulder with their sons ; and by their example and 
experience gave encouragement and strength to the un- 
disciplined masses who were present. 130 men an- 
swered to their names. The Captain, John Parker, 
ordered every one to load with powder and ball, but to 
take care not to be the first to fire. No signs of 
the approach of the enemy being visible, they were 
dismissed, with orders to reassemble at the roll of the 
drum. 

About eleven o'clock, the foremost party, led by 
Pitcairn, a major of marines, was advancing quickly and 
in silence. Alarm guns were fired, and the drums beat. 
The British seeing that their advance was known, 
detached six companies of light infantry, with orders to 
press on, by a forced march, to Concord, and secure 
the two bridges over the river. Messengers were de- 
spatched to Boston for reinforcements. 

Pitcairn advanced rapidly towards Lexington, captur- 
ing several persons on the way. One of these escaping, 
hastened to Lexington, and informed Captain Parker of 
the approach of the enemy. The drums beat, and 
about 70, who were in the neighborhood, assembled 
on the green, half of whom were without arms. Parker 
ordered those without arms to go into the meeting- 
house and equip themselves and join the company, 
while those who were armed, 38 in number, he di- 
rected to follow him to the north end of the green, 
where he formed them in line, in single file. Before 
those who were in the meeting-house could obtain 
arms and ammunition, Pitcairn and his detachment 



20 



THE BATTLES OF AMERICA. 




BRITISH GRENADIER. 



came up, and wheeled so 
as to cut the former off, 
and prevented them from 
joining their comrades un- 
der Parker. 

Marching up by column 
of platoons, the enemy 
advanced within 50 feet 
of the position occupied by 
Parker, and there halted. 
Pitcairn then advanced a 
few feet in front of his 
men, brandished his sword, 
and shouted, " Lay down 
your arms, you damned 
rebels, or you are all dead 
men ; " and immediately 
afterwards, " the rebels " 
failing to comply with his 
first order, he directed his 
men to "Fire." The order 
was followed first by a few 
guns, which did no execu- 
tion, and then by a close 
and deadly discharge of 
musketry. In the dis- 
parity of numbers Parker 
ordered every man to take 
care of himself.and they ac- 
cordingly dispersed. While 
they were retreating, the 
-^, second platoon of the ene- 
my fired, killing several and 
wounding others. Then, 
and not till then, did a few 
of the Patriots, on their 



IN AND AROUND BOSTON. 



21 



own impulse, return the 
British fire. These ran- 
dom shots of fugitives or 
dying men did no harm. 
Seven of the Patriots were 
killed and nine wounded. 
One who was taken pris- 
oner, was shot in his en- 
deavor to escape. 

Thus was the first blood 
of the American Patriots 
shed by George III, and 
from that hour the domi- 
nation of England over 
America passed forever 
away. Thus was fought 
the first skirmish for lib- 
erty, at Lexington, on 
April 19, 1775- 

Concord. — The British 
pushed on to Concord, 
and destroyed the stores. 
The liberty-pole and sev- 
eral gun-carriages were 
burned ; the Court-house 
took fire, but the fire was 
put out. The Patriots on 
the rising ground above 
Concord bridge had in- 
creased to more than 400. 
One of them inquired ear- 
nestly, " Will you let them 
burn down the town?" 
An impromptu council 
was held on the spot, and 




AMERICAN RIFLEMAN. 



22 THE BATTLES OF AMERICA. 

with noble firmness it was resolved " to march into 
the middle of the town for its defense, or die in the 
attempt." 

Colonel Barrett, on horseback in the rear, gave orders 
to advance, but not to fire unless attacked. " I have not 
a man that is afraid to go," said Isaac Davis, of Acton ; 
and drawing his sword, he cried, " March ! " His com- 
pany being on the right, led the way towards the bridge, 
he, himself, at their head, and by his side Major John 
Buttrick, of Concord, followed by the Minute-men and 
militia, in double file, trailing arms. The British began 
to take up the planks ; to prevent it, the Patriots 
quickened their steps. At this the British fired one or 
two shots up the river ; then another, by which two 
were wounded. A volley followed, and Isaac Davis, 
and Abner Hosmer, the deacon's son, fell dead. 

On seeing this, Major Buttrick gave the orders, 
'^Fire, fcllozv-soldiers; for God's sake, fire;" and a 
general discharge from the whole line of the Patriots 
was given, several of the enemy, including three lieu- 
tenants, falling on the spot. In two minutes, all was 
hushed. The British retreated in disorder towards their 
main body; the countrymen were left in possession 
of the bridge. This is the world-renowned Battle of 
Concord ; more eventful than Agincourt, or Blenheim, 

The Patriots had acted from impulse. They made 
no pursuit. The enemy observed their movements with 
anxiety and alarm. Everything indicated a spirit of 
resolute opposition, and the British Colonel, Smith, pre- 
pared for a hasty retreat. He left the town about noon, 
to retreat the way he came, along the hilly road that 
wound through forests and thickets. The Patriots ran 
over the hills opposite the battlefield, and placed them- 
selves in ambush near the junction of the Bedford road. 
There they were reinforced by men from all around, 
and at that point the chase of the British began. 



24 



THE BATTLES OF AMERICA. 



Every piece of wood, every rock by the wayside, 
served as a lurking place. Scarce ten of the Patriots 
were at any time seen together; yet the hills on each 
side seemed to the British to swarm with " rebels," as 
if they had dropped from the clouds, and " the road was 
lined " by an unintermitted fire from behind stone walls 
and trees. 

At first the invaders moved in order; but as they 
drew near Lexington, their flanking parties became 
ineffective from weariness; the wounded were scarce 
able to get forward. In the west of Lexington a sharp 
contest ensued. The British troops, "greatly exhausted 
and fatigued, and having expended almost all their 
ammunition," began to run rather than retreat in 
order. The officers vainly tried to stop their flight. 
" They were driven before the Americans like sheep." 
At last, about two in the afternoon, about a mile below 
the field of the morning's bloodshed, the officers made 
their way to the front, and by menaces of death began 
to form them, under a very heavy fire. 

At that moment Lord Percy came in sight with a 
brigade of nearly 1200 men, with two field-pieces. 
While the cannon kept the Patriots at bay, Percy formed 
his detachment into a square, inclosing the fugitives, 
who lay down for rest on the ground, "their tongues 
hanging out of their mouths like those of dogs after a 
chase." 

From this time, the Patriots had to contend against 
nearly the whole of the British army in Boston. ItS' 
best troops, fully two-thirds of its whole number, and 
more than that proportion of its strength, were now 
with Percy. And yet delay was sure to prove ruinous. 
The British must fly speedily and fleetly, or be over- 
whelmed. 

From far and wide Minute-men were gathering. The 
men of Dedham went forth in such numbers that scarce 



26 THE BATTLES OF AMERICA. 

one male between i6 and 70 was left at home. That 
morning William Prescott mustered his regiment; and 
though Pepperell was so remote that he could not be in 
season for the pursuit, he hastened down with five com- 
panies of guards. Before noon, a messenger rode at 
full speed into Worcester, crying, " To Arms ! " A 
fresh horse was brought, and the tidings went on; while 
the men of that town kept on the march till they reached 
Cambridge. 

Aware of his perilous position, Percy rested for half 
an hour, and renewed the retreat. He was exposed to 
a fire on each side, in front, and from behind. The 
Patriots, who were good marksmen, would lie down con- 
cealed to load their guns in one place, and discharge 
them at another, running from front to flank, and from 
flank to rear. 

Beyond Lexington, the troops were attacked by men 
chiefly from Essex, and the lower towns. At West 
Cambridge, Joseph Warren and William Heath gave for 
a time some little appearance of organization, and the 
fight grew sharper and more determined. A musket- 
ball grazed the head of Warren, who was ever in the 
place of greatest danger. The British became more 
and more "exasperated," and indulged in savage cruelty. 
Of the Patriots there were never more than 400 together 
at any one time; but, as some grew tired or used up 
their ammunition, others took their places, and, though 
there was not much concert or discipline, and no attack 
with masses, the pursuit never flagged. 

Below West Cambridge, the militia from Dorchester, 
Roxbury, and Brookline came up. The British field- 
pieces now lost their terror, and the patriots pressed 
upon the rear of the fugitives, whose retreat could not 
become more precipitate. Had it been delayed a half 
hour longer, or had Pickering, with his fine regiment 
from Salem, Danvers, and Marblehead, been alert to 



28 THE BATTLES OF AMERICA. 

have intercepted them in front, it was thought that, 
worn down as they were by fatigue and exhausted of 
ammunition, they must have surrendered. But a Httle 
after sunset, the survivors escaped across Charlestown 
Neck. 

The fighting had continued at its hottest for seven 
hours, and the result contributed to raise the spirits and 
confidence of the Patriots, and to depress the British. 
The news of what had been accomplished was carried 
by mounted messengers from town to town in every 
direction, so that in a remarkably short time the fact 
was known all over the land. The enthusiastic response 
it awakened was proof conclusive that the whole of the 
Colonies from Maine to Georgia, and from the Atlantic 
to the western prairies, were ripe for revolt. 

Percy's troops had marched 30 miles in ten hours ; 
and the party under Smith had retreated 20 miles in 
six hours ; the guns of the ships-of-war and a menace 
to burn the town of Charlestown saved them from 
annoyance during their rest on Bunker Hill and while 
they were ferried across Charles River. 

The loss of the Patriots, exclusive of those already 
accounted as being killed at Lexington, in the morning, 
was 85 killed, wounded, and missing. The loss of the 
British in killed, wounded, and missing was 273 ; greater 
than in the battle before Quebec, where Wolfe fell. 
Among the wounded were many officers. 

All the following night, the men of Massachusetts 
streamed in from scores of miles around, old men as 
well as young. They had scarce a semblance of artillery 
or warlike stores, no powder, no organization, nor 
provisions ; but they were there, thousands with brave 
hearts, determined to rescue the liberties of their country. 
" The night preceding the outrages at Lexington, there 
were not fifty people in the whole colony that ever 
expected any blood would be shed in the contest;" the 



IN AND AROUND BOSTON. 2Q 

night after, the King's government and the King's army 
found themselves closely beleaguered in Boston; and the 
power of the royal governors was broken from Massa- 
chusetts to Georgia, 

Bunker's Hill (June 17, 1775). — The Minute men 
and the militiamen who had hurried to Boston, on 
receipt of the news from Lexington, had gradually 




RATTLESNAKE FLAG, USED AT THE BEGINNING OF THE REVOLUTION. 

returned to their homes, and their places were filled 
with troops enlisted for terms of service, varying 
from three to twelve months in extent. It was " a 
mixed multitude," as yet, under very little discipline, 
order, or government. There were the materials 
for a good army in the private men, of whom 
great numbers were able-bodied, active, and unques- 
tionably brave, and there were also officers worthy of 



30 



THE BATTLES OF AMERICA. 



leading such men. There was a great want of money 
and of clothing, of engineers; but above all, of ammuni- 
tion. The scanty store of powder was reserved for the 
small arms, and used with great frugality. Greene and 
Putnam worked like beavers ; inciting the men and 
encouraging them. General Ward was placed in com- 
mand. His age and infirmities combined to increase 
the caution which the state of the camp made imperative. 
He was unwilling to hazard defeat, and inclined to wait 
the solution of events from the negotiations of the Con- 
tinental Congress. It was suggested that Cambridge 
could not be held, and that it would be wiser to go back 
and fortify on the heights of Brookline. " We must 
hold Cambridge," was Putnam's constant reply, and he 
repeatedly but vainly asked leave to advance the lineis 
to Prospect Hill. 

The dishonorable position which the King's army 
was compelled to occupy was galling. "Bloody work" 
was expected, and it was rumored that they were deter- 
mined to lay the country waste with fire and sword. 
George HI was counting the days necessary for the 
voyage of his transports that were to " disperse the 
rebels, destroy their works, open up a communication 
with the country, and imprison the leading patriots of 
the colony." 

The Committee of Safety decided "that Bunker's 
Hill be maintained by sufficient force being posted 
there;" and accordingly on June i6, measures were 
taken to occupy and hold the hill. The regiments 
under Prescott, Frye, and Bridge, all of Massachusetts, 
and 200 Connecticut troops under Captain Knowlton, 
were ordered to parade on Cambridge Common, at six 
o'clock in the evening. With these were Captain Grid- 
ley's company of artillery of 49 men and two field-pieces. 
The men took their packs and blankets, with provisions 
for 24 hours, and the entrenching tools belonging to the 




GENERAL IbKAEL PUTNAM. 



3« 



32 



THE BATTLES OF AMERICA. 



camp. The" character of the service they were to per- 
form was not divulged even to the officers. At the 
appointed time nearly lOOO men appeared on the Com- 
mon ; and the command was assumed by Colonel 
William Prescott, to whom written orders had been 
given by General Ward. 

Langdon, the president of Harvard College, who was 
one of the chaplains to the army, prayed with them fer- 
vently ; then, as the late darkness closed in, they marched 
for Charlestown in the face of the proclamation, issued 
only four days before, by which all persons taken in 
arms against their sovereign, were threatened under 
martial law with " death by the cord as rebels and 
traitors." Prescott and his men were the first to give 
the menace defiance. For himself, he was resolved 
" never to be taken alive." 

The CoDimittce had recommended Bunker's Hill, but 
Prescott had " received orders to march to Breed's Hill, 
as being the more commanding site." Heedless of 
personal danger, he obeyed the orders, which better 
suited the daring spirits of his companions. 

The lines of a redoubt, about eight rods square, were 
accordingly drawn on Breed's Hill, and work was begun. 
The bells of Boston struck twelve before the first sod 
was thrown up. Then every man of the thousand seized 
in his turn the pickaxe and the spade, and they plied 
their tools with such expedition, that rapidly and surely 
the breastwork " assumed form, and height, and capacity 
for defense." 

The day was the hottest of the season. After their 
fatigues through the night, the Patriots might all have 
pleaded their unfitness for action ; some, indeed, left 
the post. Yet Prescott was dismayed neither by fatigue 
nor desertion. " Let us never consent to being relieved," 
he said to his own regiment and to those who remained; 
" these are the works of our own hands ; to us be the 




THE DEFENCE OF BREED'S HILL: PRESCOTT IN THE REDOUBT 

3 33 



34 



THE BATTLES OF AMERICA. 



honor of defending them." He despatched repeated 
messengers for reinforcements and provisions ; but at 
the hour of noon no assistance had appeared. 

About three o'clock the British troops advanced to 
the assault. They marched under cover of a heavy 
fire of cannon and howitzers. Howe was in command 
of the right wing, and it was arranged that he should 
attack the " rebels " in flank, while Pigot, who had the 
left wing, should assail the southern front of the redoubt. 
They moved slowly, in order that the artillery should 
produce full effect on the works ; and in a little while 
Pigot found that his left flank was being severely galled 
by the Patriot riflemen posted in houses in Charlestown, 
which lay below the position of the insurgents. Howe 
therefore sent over orders to Clinton and Burgoyne, who 
remained on the Boston peninsula, to set fire to the 
village, which was done by the discharge of shells from 
Copp's Hill. The buildings in Charlestown, some 500 in 
number, were all constructed of wood, and the blaze of 
their ignition flared far and wide over the neighborhood 
and the surrounding country, attracting crowds of 
spectators, who assembled on the hills, on the roofs of 
the houses in Boston, on the tops of the church-towers, 
and on the masts of the shipping, to watch the grand 
but terrible spectacle. 

Howe's military dispositions were commended by 
Burgoyne as "soldier-like and perfect;" and he was 
well seconded by his men. The troops under Pigot 
ascended the rising ground towards the redoubt steadily 
and in good order. The fire of their small arms did 
little damage, as they aimed too high and began too 
soon ; and Prescott ordered his men to reserve their 
return volley until " the whites of the men's eyes could 
be seen." When he thought the British near enough, 
he exclaimed " Fire ! " — and volley after volley was 
poured into their ranks, causing them to fly in disorder 



IN AND AROUND BOSTON. ^5 

to their boats. They soon rallied ; but the Patriots fired 
again and again, loading under cover, and springing up 
on the wall of the redoubt to deliver their shots. These 
rapid volleys were replied to by the regulars with spirit, 
and a fierce combat went on for ten minutes. The 
Patriots determined to sustain the reputation for courage 
which they had won at Concord, and delivered their fire 
with the same deadly effect. After awhile, the British 
line wavered and gave way ; the whole mass staggering 
in disorderly heaps down the side of the hill, and 
crowding tumultuously on the shore, close to the land- 
ing-place. 

Meanwhile, the column under Howe was attacking 
the spur of the redoubt that ran north towards the 
Mystic and presented its face to the east. Having 
arrived within eighty yards of the rail fence, the troops 
deployed into line with coolness and precision. The 
Patriots under the command of Stark and Knowlton 
reserved their fire with the same quiet self-restraint that 
their comrades at the chief redoubt had shown. Rest- 
ing their guns on the rail in front of them, they dis- 
charged, at the proper moment, a heavy volley, from 
which the British, as at the other position, recoiled in 
disorder until they reached such shelter as they could 
find. In about a quarter of an hour, the detachment 
under Pigot was again ready to advance against the 
south face of the redoubt. The men had been rallied 
by their officers, who were seen pushing them forward 
at the sword's point. They advanced the second time 
with some reluctance, but, getting within musket-shot, 
pressed on with spirit. The Patriot volley, delivered 
this time at still closer quarters than before, was after- 
wards described by Prescott as like a " continuous 
stream of fire ; " and it produced a terrible effect on the 
British. Again they wavered and broke. The bottom 
of the hill was once more sought in headlong flight; 



36 THE BATTLES OF AMERICA. 

yet the wall of the redoubt had been very nearly gained; 
some of the dead a4id dying lay within a few yards of it. 
A second advance was made against the flank by 
Howe's division. The Grenadiers and Light Infantry 
marched close up to the fence, but were unable to carry 
it. Some of the companies lost as many as nine-tenths 
of their numbers as soon as they presented themselves. 
In several instances, not more than three or four men 
were left in a company, so terrible was the fire. The 
dead, as Colonel Stark testified, " lay as thick as sheep 
within a fold." So many of the officers were killed, 
that for a while Howe was left nearly alone ; yet the 
struggle was maintained. The guns of the ships in the 
harbor, and the artillery of the batteries planted on the 
opposite shore, continued to ply with vigor ; but towards 
the end of the action the field-pieces were reduced 
to silence for want of ammunition, and the infantry 
were left to do their work without the aid which 
field artillery would have afforded them. The Patriot 
ammunition also was very nearly exhausted after the 
defeat of the second attack. The Committee of Safety 
insisted that every shot ought to kill a man, and that a 
lavish supply of powder would only tempt the men to 
neglect accuracy of aim, and thus throw away their fire. 
They had therefore omitted to furnish fresh supplies, 
and, although there had been no waste, the stock was 
now almost at an end. They had but few bayonets 
among them, and the chances of a third assault looked 
unpromising for the Patriots. The powder in some 
artillery cartridges was distributed, and injunctions given 
not to waste a grain of it. Prescott hoped that, if the 
British could be repulsed a third time, their rout would 
be final and complete. Howe was resolved not to be 
beaten, and he made a fresh disposition of his forces, so 
as to deliver a simultaneous attack on three sides of 
the position. He was enabled to do this by an unex- 










DEATH OF MAJOR PITCAIRN. 



37 



38 



THE BATTLES OF AMERICA. 



pected arrival of reinforcements. Clinton, having ob- 
served from Copp's Hill the very critical posture of 
affairs, had, on his own authority, started for the scene 
of action at the head of two battalions, including a body 
of marines. The whole force was now divided between 
the south, the east, and the north sides of the entrench- 
ment ; and the three divisions moved forward to the 
supreme effort. 

The Patriots had retired to the inner part of the fort, 
the outer lines being raked by the batteries. Once 
again they waited with calm self-possession the near ap- 
proach of the enemy ; then, as before, a terrific fire 
leaped forth with that concentration and regularity 
which made them the best marksmen in the world. 
But this time, after a momentary pause, the British, in- 
stead of giving way, sprang forward, without any return 
volley, to the outer wall. The Patriot fire grew less and 
less, and presently almost ceased. On the southern 
side of the redoubt, the front rank of the assailing force 
scaled the parapet with a rush. Many were shot down ; 
among them. Major Pitcairn, the officer associated with 
Lexington, who fell mortally wounded. But the regu- 
lars, now that they had surmounted the breastwork, 
rushed on with impetuosity. Driven to desperation, 
and devoid of ammunition, the colonists clubbed their 
muskets, and struck wildly at the foe, who pressed on, 
and carried the redoubt at the point of the bayonet. 
The superiority of the British in numbers was so great, 
that at four o'clock, Prescott was compelled to order a 
retreat, and the Patriots fled from the position they had 
so long and gallantly defended, and made in the direc- 
tion of Bunker's Hill. " Nothing," wrote a British 
officer, " could be more shocking than the carnage that 
followed the storming of this work. We tumbled over 
the dead to get at the living, who were crowding out of 
the gorge of the redoubt in order to form under the 




BATTLE OF BUNKER'S HILL. 



39 



AO THE BATTLES OF AMERICA. 

defenses which they had prepared to cover their retreat." 
Prescott was the last to leave the fort. Though his coat 
and waistcoat were rent with bayonet-thrusts, which he 
parried with his sword, he got off unhurt. The British 
had burst in, and for a few minutes the redoubt was a 
mob of raging combatants, wildly intermingled. But 
the Patriots fought their way out, and escaped under a 
cloud of dust which their trampling feet beat up from 
the parched and pulverized soil. Their retreat was 
aided by the obstinacy with which the Connecticut and 
New Hampshire companies, under Knowlton and Stark, 
held the outlying defense in the direction of the Mystic. 
As soon as the main body had left Breed's Hill, these 
auxiliaries also retired. Utterly worn out by the events 
of the day — by their two unsuccessful attempts to carry 
the enemy's entrenchments, and their final success — the 
British could do no more than make a show of pursuit; 
but the fugitives suffered severely, in passing Charlestown 
Neck, from the cross-fire of two floating batteries and 
a man-of-war. Of six pieces of artillery, the Patriots 
were able to carry off but one. The loss was but slight, 
considering the length and vehemence of the contest. 
It is set down at 145 killed and missing, and 304 
wounded. Among the killed was Joseph Warren, one 
of the most active and distinguished of the Patriots. 
He was among the last in the trenches, and fell, shot 
through the head, as the retreat began. The Congress 
of Massachusetts expressed the sense of the whole 
country, when it declared its " veneration for Joseph 
Warren, whose memory is endeared to his countrymen, 
and to the worthy in every part and age of the world, 
so long as virtue and valor shall be esteemed among 
men." 

The cost of the battle on the side of the British was 
very serious. More than a third of the forces engaged 
were slain or disabled. The killed were above 220 in 



IN AND AROUND BOSTON. 



41 



number ; the wounded, more than 820. Gage, in his re- 
port of the event, made some observations that must have 
opened the eyes of Enghsh statesmen to the serious 
nature of the task they had undertaken. He wrote : — 
" The success, which was very necessary in our present 




V ,/ -/ - , 



GENERAL GAGE. 



condition, cost us dear. The number of killed and 
wounded is greater than our forces can afford to lose. 
We have lost some extremely good officers. The trials 
we have had show the rebels are not the despicable rab- 
ble too many have supposed them to be, and I find it 
owing to a military spirit encouraged among them for a 



42 



THE BATTLES OF AMERICA. 



few years past, joined with uncommon zeal and enthu- 
siasm. They entrench, and raise batteries; they have 
engineers. They have fortified all the heights and 
passes around this town, which it is not impossible for 
them to annoy. The conquest of this country is not 
easy; you luive to cope with vast numbers. In all their 
wars against the French, they never showed so much con- 
duct, attention, and perseverance, as they do now. I think 
it my duty to let you know the true situation of affairs." 

The retreat was no worse than such movements com- 
monly are ; it was better than some in which disciplined 
troops have been concerned. The fugitives were met 
by Putnam on the northern side of Bunker's Hill. He 
had been trying to collect reinforcements, and now as- 
sumed the command of the discomfited regiments. 
Uniting them with a detachment of fresh troops, he 
encamped for the night on Prospect Hill. 

The British forces entrenched themselves, on the 
night of June 17, at the summit of Breed's Hill, lying 
down on the ground they had conquered. Their vic- 
tory was one of a very barren nature. They were 
unable to continue the pursuit beyond the isthmus. 
They had brought their best forces into the field ; more 
than a third of those engaged lay dead or bleeding, and 
the survivors were fatigued and overawed by the 
courage of their adversaries. The battle put an end to 
all offensive operations on the part of Gage. 

Though termed a defeat in military language, it had 
all the effect of a great moral victory. From it the 
Patriots acquired self-confidence and self-reliance. 
They convinced their adversaries that they could fight ; 
and to the nations of Europe they presented the 
spectacle of a united people, resolved to establish their 
independence at whatever cost of bloodshed. Frank- 
lin, on hearing of the event, wrote to his friends in 
England that Great Britain has lost her colonies for ever. 



IN AND AROUND BOSTON. 



43 



Siege of Boston (April 19, 1775,10 March 17, 1776), 
At the very same time that the forces of New Eng- 
land were withstanding British troops in the vicinity 
of Boston, the Continental Congress was engaged in 
nominating four Major-Generals to act under Washing- 
ton in command of the regiments that were to be 
raised by the whole of the provinces. The first of 
these was Artemas Ward, who, notwithstanding his 
age and infirmities, answered, " I always have been and 
am still ready to devote my life in attempting to 
deliver my native country." The second was Charles 
Lee, an officer in the Royal army who quitted England 
because preferment had been denied to him. He had 
seen service in Portugal, Poland, and Turkey; never- 
theless he was an unfortunate selection. He was a 
man of ambitious desires and jealous disposition, 
gloomy and irritable, and too prone to aristocratic and 
despotic ideas in politics to work harmoniously with the 
democratic institutions then taking shape here. The 
third was Philip Schuyler of New York; a man of 
great consideration in his own province, of high charac- 
ter, and unquestioned patriotism ; yet in some respects 
unsuited to military command. Israel Putnam, of 
Connecticut, was the fourth selection. He was famous 
for deeds of personal prowess ; and his acknowledged 
courage, adventurous life, and ardent support of the 
rights of the colonies had made him very popular with 
the people. 

Horatio Gates was made an Adjutant-General with 
the rank of Brigadier. He had served in the British 
army. Besides these, eight brigadier-generals were 
appointed : Seth Pomroy, of Massachusetts ; Richard 
Montgomery, of New York ; David Wooster, of Con- 
necticut ; William Heath, of Massachusetts; Joseph 
Spencer, of Connecticut; John Thomas, of Massachu- 
setts ; John Sullivan, of New Hampshire ; and 



44 THE BATTLES OF AMERICA. 

Nathaniel Greene, of Rhode Island : all, with one ex- 
ception, men of New England birth. Montgomery was 
an Irishman. 

Washington quitted Philadelphia June 23, 1775, and 
on July 2 reached the camp before Boston, where his 
great organizing genius was exercised in getting into 
form and consistency the chaotic mass of raw material 
of which the Patriot army consisted. 

The opposing armies were encamped very near one 
another. The British occupied not only Boston, but 
the whole of Charlestown peninsula, their sentries ex- 
tending a short distance beyond the Neck. Redoubts 
and batteries were scattered about, and 7000 highly 
disciplined and seasoned troops stood prepared for any 
further action. The Patriots were posted in a semi-circle 
from the west end of Dorchester to Maiden, a distance 
of nine miles. The centre of the line was at Cam- 
bridge, where Ward commanded ; and all about the 
little towns, and country ways, and steep passes between 
hill and hill, were defensive works, contrived with great 
tact. Some of the men were lodged in tents ; others 
in huts, made of boards, sailcloth, turf, brushwood, 
reeds, or anything that came to hand ; others, again, 
in regular dwelling-houses. 

The men wer^ kept at labor even on Sundays, 
.strengthening the lines, and fortifying weak places. 
These engineering works were planned and executed by 
Henry Knox, of Boston, who had been appointed to 
the command of a battalion of artillery, and who in 
time introduced so much improvement into the 
American ordnance, that some of the best judges in 
Europe expressed their admiration of his genius. The 
whole number of effectives under Washington were 
about 14,000. Of these many were very inferior 
soldiers ; but altogether, the force when organized 
promised well for the future of the colonies. There was 



IN AND AROUND BOSTON. 



45 



a deal of excellent material ; and it only needed educat- 
ing and the stern rigors of command. 

As winter wore on, the difficulties of Washington in- 
creased ; for his army was still raw and undisciplined, 
his resources grew less with the growing de- 
mands on them, and the distracted counsels of his sub- 




GENERAL WILLIAM HOWE. 



ordinates were more than ever bewildering and vexa- 
tious. He had obtained some guns and a stock of 
powder, and would have advanced over the ice to 
Boston, or approached it in boats, if he could have 
gained the co-operation of his officers; but, finding his 
project was not supported, he was obliged to content 



46 



THE BATTLES OF AMERICA, 



himself with watching the enemy and maturing plans 
for the future. The British commanders were expecting 
reinforcements, and contemplating a removal to New 
York when they should receive them. Washington re- 
solved to furnish his opponents with employment of a 
serious character; and he now conceived the design of 
occupying Dorchester Heights, a line of hills stretching 
along a peninsula to the south of Boston, the possession 
of which would give him the command of the city, and 
to some extent of the harbor. He hoped in this way 
to bring on a general action, by compelling Howe to 
attempt his expulsion from a position of so important a 
nature ; and it was part of his design to take advantage 
of the struggle to cross with a portion of his forces 
from the Cambridge side of the river Charles, and 
attack Boston itself The Patriot army now amounted 
to 14,000 men, reckoning those who were regarded as 
regular troops ; and, in addition to these, Washington 
had called into active service about 6000 of the Massa- 
chusetts militia. The available forces under Howe were 
about 8000 men. Boston was literally a trap to the 
British forces confined there, and Howe was anxious 
for the moment when he could quit the locality and gain 
the more loyal province of New York, whence opera- 
tions could be conducted with greater prospect of suc- 
cess. 

Washington opened proceedings on March 5th, the an- 
niversary of " the Boston Massacre." On the nights of 
March 2d, 3d, and 4th, he bombarded the British lines, 
as a means of diverting attention from his real object. 
During the night of the 4th, under cover of darkness, 
and of the cannonade which was vigorously kept up 
from several points, and as warmly replied to by the 
British, though without much effect on either side, 
Washington moved towards the high ground which he 
proposed to occupy. His dispositions had been made 



IN AND AROUND BOSTON. 



47 



with great skill, and every man beforehand was 
thoroughly instructed in his work. The troops were 
accompanied by carts with trenching tools, and bundles 
of screwed hay were sent over the frozen marshes, to be 
used in the construction of works of defense in default 
of earth, which could not be obtained owing to the 
frozen state of the ground. The unceasing roar of the 
great guns, and the whizzing of shells as they cut their 
way through the dark and frozen air, drowned the noise 
of Washington's troops moving from the vicinity of 
Cambridge to that of Dorchester. This great advantage 
was obtained at a cost of but two men, and of the 
bursting of five mortars. Having gained the Heights, 
the Patriots worked with unflinching assiduity, and the 
teams of bullock-wagons went to and fro, bringing up 
fresh supplies for the works. At three o'clock on the 
morning of the 5th, the first working party was relieved ; 
and by dawn, when at length the bombardment ceased, 
a formidable line of fortifications was apparent to the as- 
tonished eyes of Howe and his army. On each of the 
two hills where Washington had taken his station, 
strong redoubts had been run up ; the foot of the ridge 
was protected by an abatis of felled trees ; and at the 
top were several barrels filled with earth and stones, 
which could be rolled down on the advancing lines. 

Howe exclaimed that the besiegers had done more 
in a night than his men would have accomplished in a 
month. He resolved, by the advice of a council of war, 
to attack the enemy at once. Admiral Shuldham, who 
commanded the fleet, declared that unless the New 
Englanders were dislodged he could not keep a ship in 
the harbor. Howe was encouraged in his determination 
to assault the lines (hazardous as he confessed the enter- 
prise to be) by the ardor of his troops, who, as he re- 
ported, were eager to try conclusions with a foe they 
had already vanquished, though with difficulty, on 



48 



THE BATTLES OF AMERICA. 



Breed's Hill. Under the direction of Earl Percy 2400 
men were placed. The Patriots seeing what was designed, 
were animated with the hope of inflicting a severe 
defeat on their adversaries. Washington exclaimed to 
those about him, " Remember the 5th of March ! 
Avenge the death of your brethren ! " Percy delayed 
scaling the heights until nightfall, and in the afternoon a 
violent storm of wind arose, which continued during the 
night, and, on the morning of the 6th rain fell in 
torrents and prevented any attempts being made. A 
council of war was held by Howe, and it was agreed 
that it was now impossible to expel the Patriots from 
their position, and that the speedy evacuation of Boston 
had become a necessity. He found himself out-gen- 
eralled by an officer whom he regarded as a mere 
amateur in the art of war. 

Early in the morning of March 17th, it was seen 
that a breastwork had been constructed during the 
night on Nook's Hill, a part of the Dorchester range 
which commands Boston Neck and the southern quar- 
ter of the town, and as any further delay would have 
been highly dangerous, it Was resolved to move as soon 
as possible. The adherents of the Royal cause were 
offered a passage to Nova Scotia ; but the prospect of 
exile to such dreary lands seemed more wretched and 
alarming than the expected ill-usage of the victorious 
Patriots. There was no time to come to terms with the 
enemy as to their future condition, and several were left 
to their fate. 

At four o'clock on the morning of March i8th, the 
British army, accompanied by about 2000 of their loyal 
sympathizers, began to embark, and before ten they 
were all on board the 120 transports, and under way, so 
great was the despatch. Ere leaving, they dismantled, 
and in part demolished, the fort called Castle William ; 
but the barracks were left as they stood, with a large 



50 THE BATTLES OF AMERICA. 

quantity of cannon and ammunition, which proved of 
the greatest service to Washington. Howe neglected 
to give information to ships from England that the town 
was now in the hands of the rebels, and several English 
store-ships, containing munitions of war, sailed into the 
harbor and were seized by the Patriots ; and one vessel 
conveying 700 troops shared the same fate. The re- 
maining royalists of Boston were brought to trial, found 
guilty, and their effects were confiscated and turned to 
the benefit of the cause. 

As the rear-guard of the British army quitted Boston, 
the Patriot vanguard under Putnam marched in. They 
found marks of hasty flight everywhere; for the enemy 
had left behind him, not merely guns and gunpowder, 
but large quantities of wheat, barley, and oats, a hundred 
and fifty cavalry horses, and bedding and clothing for 
soldiers. Washington entered Boston on the 19th, and 
the main body of the army followed on the 20th. Six 
of his best regiments were at once despatched to New 
York, and preparations were made to repel any possible 
attack on Boston itself 

Thus ended the "siege of Boston;" and Washing- 
ton sought in the neighborhood of New York addi- 
tional strength for the cause of his country. 

Bancroft says : " Never was so great a result obtained 
at so small a cost of human life. The putting of the 
British army to flight was the first decisive victory of 
the industrious middling class over the most powerful 
representatives of mediaeval aristocracy ; and the whole 
number of New England men killed in the siege after 
Washington took the command was less than twenty; 
the liberation of New England cost altogether less than 
200 lives in battle; and the triumphant general, as he 
looked around, enjoyed the serenest delight, for he saw 
no mourners among those who greeted his entry after 
his bloodless victory." 



CHAPTER II. 

TiCONDEROGA AND CrOWN PoINT (May lO, 1775). 

While passing through Hartford, on April 29, i775, 
the "arch rebels," Samuel Adams and John Hancock, 
secretly met the Governor and Council, to settle the 
details of an expedition to surprise Ticonderoga. The 
plan had originated with the Green Mountain Boys — a 
body of active Patriots recently formed in Vermont, from 
the name of which colony they took their name. Ethan 
Allen — a man who had formerly been outlawed by the 
government of New York for encouraging the people 
of Vermont to assert their independence of that prov- 
ince — was to be one of the leaders of the attack, and 
Connecticut was to furnish the necessary funds. 

A few men were got together in Massachusetts, and 
word was quickly spread through the hills of Vermont 
that the attempt was forthwith to be made. 100 of the 
Green Mountain Boys joined the volunteers from Mas- 
sachusetts on May 7th, and elected Ethan Allen as their 
chief, in spite of a commission from the Massachusetts 
Committee of Safety, which conferred the command on 
Benedict Arnold. On the following day, the party 
began their march. Near Orwell, which was reached 
late on the 9th, a few boats were discovered, and 83 
men crossed the narrow waters between Lakes George 
and Champlain, and, guided by a farmer's son, who was 
well acquainted with the fort and its vicinity, landed not 
far from the position. As several of the men were thus 

(51) 



52 



THE BATTLES OF AMERICA. 



left behind, the boats were sent back to bring up the 
rest ; but it was found impossible to wait for them, lest 
the expedition should be discovered, and the advantages 




JOHN HANCOCK, PRESIDENT OF THE CONTINENTAL CONGRESS. 



of a surprise be missed. In the early morning of the 
lOth, Allen drew up his men in three ranks on the 
slopes of the high ground, and thus addressed them: 
"Friends and fellow-soldiers, we must this morning quit 



TICONDEROGA AND CROWN POINT. 



53 



our pretensions to valor, or possess ourselves of this 
fortress ; and, inasmuch as it is a desperate attempt, I 
do not urge it on, contrary to will. You that will under- 




i /|\»r 



SAMUEL ADAMS, OF MASSACHUSETTS. 

take it voluntarily, poise your firelock." Not a man 
hung back, every firelock was poised, and Allen then 
led his little band up to the gate of the fortress. Through 



54 



THE BATTLES OF AMERICA. 



the wicket, which was open, the Patriots rushed into the 
enclosure with a cry as of Indians, and formed on the 
parade in such a way as to face each of the barracks. 
After a shght skirmish with cutlasses, one of the sen- 
tries, who had been slightly wounded, surrendered him- 
self, and volunteered to show the way to the apartment 
of the commandant, Delaplace. "Come forth instantly, 
or I will sacrifice the whole garrison!" cried Ethan 
Allen, as he reached the door. On being summoned to 
come forth, that officer presented himself half-dressed, 
and with his breeches in his hand, having had no time 
to dress, he asked Allen by what authority he demanded 
a surrender, and was answered, ''In the name of the 
Great yeJiovaJi and the Continental Congress ! " The 
" Continental Congress " did not meet for organization 
until six hours afterwards, and its " authority " was yet 
scarcely recognized, even by the Patriots in the field. 
Delaplace remonstrated, but Allen interrupted him, and, 
with his drawn sword over his head, again demanded 
the surrender of the garrison, with which he complied, 
and ordered his men to be paraded without arms, for 
that purpose. 

Thus Ticonderoga, which cost the British nation forty 
millions of dollars, a succession of campaigns, and 
many lives, was won in ten minutes by a kw undisci- 
plined volunteers, without the loss of life or limb. 

With the fortress were taken nearly 50 prisoners, who 
were sent to Connecticut ; and they gained one thirteen- 
inch mortar, more than 100 pieces of cannon, and a 
number of swivels, stores, and small arms. 

Flushed with their sudden success, and strangers to 
discipline, the Green Mountain Boys at once proceeded 
to plunder and destroy private property, and to commit 
other outrages. Against all this Arnold earnestly remon- 
strated, when he was reminded that he was a commander 
only by courtesy, and his authority was openly denied. 



TICONDEROGA AND CROWN POINT. 



55 



On the next day (May 12, 1775,) a party of men 
under Seth Warner took possession of Crown Point, 
which, with its garrison of 12 men, surrendered upon 
the first summons. 1 1 1 pieces of artillery, of various 




GENERAL BENEDICT ARNOLD. 



sizes and conditions, were added to the trophies of the 
expedition. 

Another party, acting under Arnold's orders, suc- 
ceeded in making a prisoner of Skene, a dangerous 
British agent, and his Tory retainers, and in getting pos- 



56 THE BATTLES OF AMERICA. 

session of Skenesborough, now known as Whitehall. 
They also captured a small schooner, with whicli they 
sailed down the lake. Arnold, with 50 of his men, 
armed the schooner, and proceeded with her to St. 
John's, on the Sorel River, where the King's sloop-of- 
war, " The George III," mounting 16 guns, and a sup- 
ply of provisions, was known to be. 

About the same time, desiring to share the honor 
which he saw awaited Arnold's expedition, Allen, with 
60 men, embarked in bateaux also for St. John's. 

Arnold approached the fort at St. John's, which he 
surprised, taking the garrison prisoners ; seized the 
sloop, which was laden with prisoners, and awaited a 
fair wind for Ticonderoga ; captured four bateaux, and 
destroyed five others ; removed a portion of the stores 
from the fort, and, with his prisoners, re-embarked for 
Ticonderoga. 

Arnold, laden with his spoils, met Allen about 15 
miles above St. John's. The latter went on board 
Arnold's sloop, and received information of the situa- 
tion of St. John's, and some provisions, and, contrary 
to Arnold's advice, determined to proceed to St. John's 
and take possession of the fort. The enemy had been 
reinforced and he met an attack from 200 men, with six 
field-pieces. He made no resistance but took to his 
boats and returned to Ticonderoga, with the loss of 
three men taken prisoners. 

Thus, in a i&vi days, a handful of undisciplined men, 
with small-arms only, and without a single bayonet, in 
a series of bold exploits, and without the loss or serious 
injury of a man, had secured artillery and stores for 
the infant cause of freedom, and secured the great 
highway leading to His Majesty's Canadian dominions. 



CHAPTER III. 

In and Around New York. 

The British sailed away from Boston on March i8, 
1776. On the fourth day of July, following, the Con- 
tinental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independ- 
ence. This act was a formal separation of the United 
Colonies from England. It was signed by 56 represent- 
atives of the Old 13 States, from New Hampshire to 
Georgia. It was read at the head of the army, pro- 
claimed in all the States, and received by the people 
everywhere with great joy. 

After the evacuation of Boston by the British, 
Washington and his army moved towards New York 
City, and prepared for its defense, believing that would 
be the next point that Howe would seek to occupy. 
The most numerous supporters of the British connec- 
tion were there ; the eastern counties containing a very 
considerable party opposed to the designs of the revolu- 
tionists. The proximity of a powerful fleet gave confi- 
dence to these royalists. The passage to the city, both 
by the East and North Rivers, had been defended by 
strong entrenchments, by chains, and sunken vessels, 
and other obstructions. 

Howe arrived from Halifax on June 28 — the remain- 
der of the fleet following within a week — and established 
his headquarters at Staten Island, opposite New York. 
Washington had under his command about 1 1,000 men, 

(57) 



58 



THE BATTLES OF AMERICA. 



of whom 2000 had no arms at all, while others were 
but poorly furnished. This force was quite inadequate 
to the work required of it ; but Washington repelled 
all promptings of despondency. His military position 
in July, 1776, was decidedly grave; but he confronted 
the dangers of the time with that unruffled serenity 
which was one of his finest characteristics. 

Howe's reinforcements arrived about the middle of 
August. He had been joined by detachments under 
Clinton and Cornwallis ; by several regiments from 
England, the West Indies, and the Floridas ; and by a 
number of " Hessians." Of these mercenaries, the 
Landgrave of Hesse furnished 12,000, while 5000 were 
supplied by the Duke of Brunswick and other petty 
sovereigns. A more cold-blooded contract was never 
signed. To England it was discreditable; to the Ger- 
man Powers concerned it was disgraceful. 

Howe had under his orders nearly 30,000 men, and 
the assistance of a powerful fleet, which was peculiarly 
serviceable in operations against a city like New York, 
capable of being approached by water from several 
directions. 

Long Island. — The Patriots were posted partly in 
New York and partly on Long Island. The command 
on the island was in the hands of General Greene — an 
officer of great ability, unimpeachable courage, and 
much zeal ; but he was unfortunately stricken with a 
raging fever at the very time when his judgment and 
vigor was most needed. General Sullivan was appointed 
to fill his place. 

On August 22, 1776, under cover of a sharp fire from 
the fleet, Howe crossed over from Staten Island, on the 
west, to Long Island, on the east. On the 27th, the 
battle of Long Island was fought near Brooklyn. The 
Patriots were defeated, and Washington withdrew his 



4 




READING THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE TO THE ARMY. 

59 



6o 



THE BATTLES OF AMERICA. 



troops from Brooklyn, leaving the whole of Long Island 
in the hands of the British. Washington made a stand 
at Harlem Heights, in the northern part of the city, but 
as he was not strong enough to hold New York, it 
was soon evacuated. Fort Washington, above New 
York, with 2700 prisoners of war, was next captured by 
the British on November 16, 1776. Washington who 
was near enough to the attack to view several parts of 

it, cried like a child at 
seeing so many of his 
soldiers bayoneted. 

The battle was, in re- 
ality, a series of skir- 
mishes. The entire 
strength of the Patriots 
did not exceed 5000 
men, while that of the 
enemy was not less 
than 15,000. The loss 
of the Patriots in killed, 
wounded, and prisoners 
was nearly 1200 men, 
more than 1000 of 
whom were held as 
prisoners in the enemy's 
camp. The British loss 
in killed, wounded and 
prisoners was 365 men. 
Howe acted with more vigor and promptitude than 
he generally displayed, and his success was quickly fol- 
lowed up. He attacked Fort Lee, on the New Jersey 
side of the river, nearly opposite Fort Washington, and 
compelled its evacuation. Greene, who commanded at 
the fort, escaped with the main body of the garrison ; 
but the heavy artillery and the baggage fell into the 
hands of the British. 




GENERAL SULLIVAN. 




GENERAL NATHANIEL GREENE. 



6i 



62 THE BATTLES OF AMERICA. 

Washington now dreaded an advance on Philadelphia, 
where the Continental Congress was assembled. 
Closely pursued by Cornwallis, he fell back from town 
to town, and ultimately reached Trenton, where he 
crossed the Delaware, taking up a favorable post on the 
western or Pennsylvania shore. Of men fit for duty, 
he had now no more than 3000, and his situation was 
so desperate that, while on the march, he had written 
earnest letters to the Governor of New Jersey and to 
Congress, soliciting reinforcements. Cornwallis made 
no attempt to cross the river, but, in order to secure the 
possession of New Jersey, formed a chain of canton- 
ments at Pennington, Trenton, Bordentown, and Bur- 
lington. 



CHAPTER IV. 
The Expeditions Against Canada (1775-1776). 

Canada, in the early days of the Revolution, lay 
open to the influences of both antagonists. It was 
in military possession of the British ; but the Patriots 
were not inclined to let it rest in that state, and 
considered that it might be made subservient to the 
general cause. On June 27, 1775, General Philip Schuy- 
ler was instructed to proceed without delay to Ticonde- 
roga, thence to advance on Canada, and to take posses- 
sion of St. John's and Montreal. 

Following out the instructions which he had re- 
ceived from Congress, Schuyler caused a number of 
boats to be built at Ticonderoga for the transport of 
his troops into the dominion of Quebec. He sent an 
emissary across the border, to collect information as to 
the state of the country and the disposition of the 
people ; and this agent, on his return about the middle 
of August, 1775, reported that the inhabitants were 
friendly, that the regular troops in the country were not 
above 700, and that the militia, which were of British 
origin, refused to serve under French officers. The 
account thus given was too sanguine ; but in some 
matters it was correct, and it encouraged Schuyler to 
push on his preparations with great energy. He had 
for his second in command the enthusiastic and daring 
Irishman, Richard Montgomery, formerly an officer 

(63) 



64 THE BATTLES OF AMERICA. 

in the British army, who, settling in New York, had be- 
come thoroughly imbued with American ideas, and was 
made a Major-General in the Patriot army. 

On his arrival at Ticonderoga, he was left for a time 
at the head of the forces there, Schuyler taking the op- 
portunity to depart for Saratoga, that he might enter 
into negotiations with the Indians. Thil^eaused some 
delay in the starting of the expedition ; but at length 
Montgomery, fearing that the neighboring waters might 
be occupied by British vessels if he stayed too long, 
determined to advance on his own authority at the head 
of looo men. By September 3 he had arrived at Isle 
La Motte, on Lake Champlain, and on the follow- 
ing day he was joined by Schuyler, with whom he pro- 
ceeded farther into the country. On the 6th the two 
commanders were at St. John's, and, in marching towards 
the castle, had a trifling encounter .with a party of 
Indians. Schuyler proposed to a council of war to re- 
treat to Isle aux Noix, which he had occupied two 
or three days before. The suggestion was adopted, and 
the backward movement performed. Montgomery, see- 
ing the necessity of a more vigorous rule, induced 
Schuyler to abandon the active command, and embark 
for Ticonderoga, leaving the chief direction in his 
hands. 

St. John's was now invested with vigor. Mont- 
gomery received frequent additions to his forces, and 
Schuyler, proving himself a good commissariat officer, 
however poor a general, kept them well supplied with 
food. A siege could not be actively prosecuted for 
want of powder ; but the fortress was surrounded, and 
effectually cut off from succor. Ethan Allen was one 
of the officers under Montgomery. He was de- 
spatched to Chambly, to raise a corps of Canadians, and, 
having recruited a certain number of men, he was 
persuaded by them to attempt the surprise of Montreal, 



% 




GENERAL RICHARD MONTGOMERY. 



6S 



^^ THE BATTLES OF AMERICA. 

which he thought might be as easy a feat as that which, 
by a happy stroke, he had been able to accompHsh 
on the morning of the lOth of May. Accordingly, at 
the head of eighty Canadians and thirty Anglo-Ameri- 
cans, he started on the night of September 24, from 
Longueil, and proceeded to Long Point. Some rein- 
forcements which he expected were not forthcoming; 
retreat was by this time impossible ; and Allen had 
no alternative but to withstand as well as he could the 
attack which was speedily made upon him. Some 500 
men, consisting of regulars, Canadians, Indians, and 
English civilians, assaulted his position, which he de- 
fended with considerable gallantry for nearly two hours. 
He was then compelled to surrender, with all his men 
who could not escape. Heavily ironed, he was sent to 
England, where he was imprisoned for a short time, and 
then carried back to America, while the others, shackled 
together in pairs, were sent to labor in transports on the 
St. Lawrence, that "they might learn for the future not 
to attempt the impossible." 

The easy defeat of Allen must have tended to cheer 
the spirits of Carleton, the British Governor, who had 
been taking a very gloomy view of the state of affairs. 
The British troops under his orders were a mere hand- 
ful, and he wrote to the commander at Boston that 
Canada was on the eve of being overrun and subdued. 

Carleton endeavored to augment his forces by enlist- 
ing Canadians and Indians ; but the former deserted in 
squads. The savages would probably have been excited 
to vigorous action, had Carleton consented to let them 
loose on the rebel provinces; but this he refused, because 
of the atrocities which he knew would be committed. 
The Indians of the Six Nations wished to make an 
immediate attack on Ticonderoga and Crown Point ; 
but the proposal was rejected. Carleton was therefore 
compelled to remain on the defensive; and the Patriots, 



58 THE BATTLES OF AMERICA. 

turning his inaction to their own advantage, laid siege 
to the fort of Chambly, which, after an attack of about 36 
hours' duration, surrendered on October 18. Seven- 
teen cannon and six tons of powder fell to the lot of the 
Patriots, and enabled them to proceed against St. John's 
with more effect. Carleton endeavored to raise the 
siege; but his force was driven back in attempting to 
cross the St. Lawrence, and his subordinate, Colonel 
Allan Maclean, with whom he had been trying to form 
a junction, retired to Quebec. The fort of St. John's sur- 
rendered on November 3, and the garrison of 600 men 
marched out with the honors of war. The situation 
appeared to Carleton so desperate that he determined to 
abandon Montreal; and on November 11, he embarked, 
with 100 regulars and Canadians, on board some small 
vessels in the port, and set sail for Quebec. Finding 
that his passage of the river was likely to be disputed, 
he disguised himself, on the night of the i6th, in the 
dress of a fisherman, entered a whale-boat, and was 
paddled with muffled oars down the island-studded 
current to Quebec, which he reached on the 19th. The 
day after he had left Montreal, that city surrendered 
without opposition to Montgomery, who straightway 
issued a proclamation to the Canadians, urging them to 
elect representatives to the Continental Congress, and 
unite themselves with the Federation of the Soutli. 

The chief struggle was to take place before Quebec, 
against which city Washington directed a large force 
under the command of Benedict Arnold. He had been 
a trader, but had joined the army, for which he had 
great natural aptitude, being courageous, enterprising, 
and intelligent. The army placed under his command 
consisted of ten companies of New England infantry, 
one of riflemen from Virginia, and two from Pennsyl- 
vania, amounting altogether to about i lOO men. This 
force left the camp before Boston on the evening of Sep- 



THE EXPEDITIONS AGAINST CANADA. 



69 



tember 13, and pushed on northwards with as much 
rapidity as the nature of the ground permitted. Their 
route, as soon as they had got into Maine, lay through 
a woody and ahiiost desert country, and, for a portion 
of the way, up the Kennebec. This river they ascended 
in small boats, working against the current, which flowed 
with such extraordinary force as frequently to compel 
the men to wade up to their waists in water, hauling 
their boats after them, or carrying them on their backs 
round cataracts, over crags, and across morasses. 
Arnold wrote to Washington that you might have mis- 
taken his troops for amphibious animals. On quitting 
the Kennebec, the road lay through dense and gloomy 
forests, where the companies would probably have been 
lost, had not an exploring party of seven men, who had 
been sent in advance, indicated the proper route by 
"blazing" the trees (that is, cutting white marks on 
them by the removal of the bark) and lopping the 
bushes. Then again they came to a region of swamps, 
overgrown with brambles and white moss, into which 
the soldiers often sank knee-deep. This dismal country 
is that which extends between the Kennebec and the 
Dead River. The latter stream was reached by Arnold 
on October 13, a month after the starting of the expedi- 
tion, and by the main body of the army two days later. 
Following its course, they traversed a distance of 83 
miles, passing seventeen falls, and having to encounter 
a series of ponds, choked with the trunks of trees. 
Thus, after many more days of toil, they reached the 
carrying-place to the Chaudiere. But the labors and 
sufferings of the troops were not yet over; and the men 
were now disheartened by hearing of the defection of 
Rocfer Enos, the second in command, who had returned 
to Cambridge, together with his three companies, form- 
ing the rear-guard of the army. 

Notwithstanding this depressing intelligence, the main 



70 



THE BATTLES OF AMERICA. 



body struggled on, though sickness had now set in, and 
many deserted their colors. November was close at 
hand; winter had already begun; the cold was intense, 
and the men were ill-prepared to meet it. Their clothes 
had become so torn by the briary woods through which 
they had passed that they were almost naked ; some 
went barefoot for many days. Tempests of icy rain 
whistled about them, and at night they had no other 
covering than branches of evergreens. Each division 
had taken with it food for 45 days ; but this had now 
run out. During the latter part of the march, several 
dogs were killed and eaten, and leather, soaked in water, 
was not disdained as a last resource in the agonies of 
famine. Many of the unfortunate soldiers died of cold 
and hunger, and no prospect of relief was in sight. In 
descending the Chaudiere, which courses rapidly through 
a rocky channel, three of the boats were upset, and a 
quantity of ammunition and stores was lost. On No- 
vember 2, those weary and starving men were delighted 
at seeing some French Canadians driving before them 
five oxen ; and on the 4th they descried a house, which 
was the first they had seen for 31 days. They had by 
this time advanced into a cultivated and inhabited 
country, and the extremity of their sufferings was at an 
end. Their emergence from the wilderness astonished 
the Canadians, who had long regarded that dreary tract 
of country as impenetrable. "VVith re-animated spirits 
they marched on towards Quebec; but their approach 
was already known in the city. Some of Arnold's com- 
munications to the Canadians, which were to have been 
distributed by friendly Indians, had been intercepted, 
and the Lieutenant-Governor of Quebec lost no time in 
strengthening the walls and augmenting the defences. 
The capital of Canada was therefore, by the second 
week of November, in a good position to meet the 
• expected attack. 



72 



THE BATTLES OF AMERICA. 



Point Levi, lying on the St. Lawrence, south of the 
Isle of Orleans, and opposite to Quebec, was reached 
by Arnold on November lo, but he was unable to cross 
at once, as all the boats had been removed. He there- 
fore set to work collecting canoes and making ladders ; 
and on the 13th, at nine o'clock in the evening, he began 
his embarkation. Not more than 30 canoes were in his 
possession, and it was found necessary to cross the river 
three times to carry over the bulk of the army. The 
darkness of night favored the operation, and Arnold 
and his men arrived undiscovered at Wolfe's Cove. 
150 soldiers had been left at Point Levi, and the number 
who now stood beneath the Heights of Abraham was 
about 700 men. Success, under the circumstances of 
the case, was hopeless. The men were exhausted with 
their long and toilsome march ; they had no cannon ; 
their muskets were damaged, and their powder and 
cartridges in bad condition. Nevertheless, they deter- 
mined to make the attempt. Ascending the steep and 
jagged path by which Wolfe had gained the elevated 
plateau in 1759, they found themselves by morning on 
the plain which stretches towards Quebec. Arnold 
sent a flag to demand the surrender of the place ; but 
the flag was not received, and the city evinced no desire 
to capitulate to a mob of ragged and half-starved men. 
Arnold, after making an assault on one of the gates of 
the city, in which he was repulsed with loss, and finding 
that his troops had no more than five rounds of ammu- 
nition to each man, retired to Point aux Trembles, 20 
miles above Quebec, and between that city and Montreal. 

The defences of Quebec were excellent; but the 
number of soldiers within the walls was few. A small 
reinforcement, however, had arrived on November 12, 
when Colonel Maclean, who had fallen back from Fort 
Chambly, entered the city at the head of 170 men, 
levied chiefly among the Highlanders settled in Canada. 



THE EXPEDITIONS AGAINST CANADA. 



73 



Two ships of war were in the harbor, and the crews 
of merchant-vessels were detained to aid in the defence. 
The arrival of General Carleton on the 19th cheered 
the spirits of the garrison. His first act was to order 
all who would not join in the defence to quit the city 
within four days. The governor had now under his 
command nearly 1800 men, of whom about 300 
were regular soldiers. With these were combined 
485 seamen and marines, several militia men, and a 
number of civilians pressed for the service. Mont- 
gomery was organizing his own legions for an attack on 
this force, if he could tempt it out into the open 
country, or on its stronghold, if he could not. It was 
a desperate enterprise, for he had no siege-guns, and his 
men were very far from being disciplined troops. 
Several of his hasty levies had by this time deserted 
him, yielding to that feeling of homesickness which was 
so commonly found among small farmers and comfortable 
husbandmen. Moreover, the engagements of the New 
Englanders terminated on the last day of the year; it 
was feared that they would not voluntarily remain any 
longer ; and it was therefore imperative to act at once, 
if anything was to be even attempted. Resolving to 
dare the utmost, Montgomery, on November 26, left 
Montreal with three armed schooners, carrying artillery 
and 300 troops. Before quitting the city, he made a 
public declaration that, on his return, he would call 
a convention of the Canadian people. 

A junction with Arnold, at Point aux Trembles, was 
effected on December 3, and on the 5th the united 
force, consisting of lOO Anglo-Americans, and about 
200 Canadian volunteers, appeared before Quebec. To 
Montgomery it seemed possible to carry the place by 
storm, though he knew that the loss of life must neces- 
sarily be great. The Lower Town was not so strongly 
defended as the Upper; it was there, if it was anywhere, 



74 



THE BATTLES OF AMERICA. 



that the fortifications were vuhierable. Still, the attempt 
was terribly hazardous. Montgomery sent a flag of truce 
to the city, with a demand for its surrender ; but Carleton 
fired on the flag, and refused to enter into any negotia- 
tions with the " rebels." A battery was then begun on 
the Heights of Abraham, near the gate of St. John. 
Montgomery, in writing to General Wooster, said that 
he expected no other advantage from his artillery than 
to amuse the enemy and to blind him as to the real de- 
sign. In default of earth, which could not be obtained, 
owing to the severe frost, the gabions and fascines were 
filled with snow, on which large quantities of water 
were poured, so that in a moment a solid mass of 
ice was produced. The siege, however, was a mere 
delusion. The shot thrown by the artillery was too 
light to effect a breach, or do any material damage, 
though the batteries were not more than 700 yards 
from the walls ; and the guns, which were all of small 
calibre, were dismounted and injured by the return fire 
of the besieged. Disease of the lungs and small-pox 
thinned the ranks of Montgomery's army, and the sea- 
son fought against them with weapons more deadly 
even than those which Carleton could command. If 
that officer could only be drawn out into the open field, 
he might be beaten ; but he was too well acquainted with 
what had happened to Montcalm, when he rashly 
quitted the city and encountered the forces of Wolfe, to 
repeat that fatal error. It was evident, therefore, that 
nothing remained but the forlorn hope of an escalade. A 
council of war, held on the evening of the i6th, decided, 
by a large majority, that an assault should be made as 
soon as the necessary preparations could be completed. 
The weather became every day more terrible in its 
severity. On the 30th, a heavy snow storm set in ; and 
Montgomery, considering that the obscurity of the 
atmosphere would favor the contemplated movement, 



THE EXPEDITIONS AGAINST CANADA. 



75 



gave orders for the troops to be ready for the assault at 
two o'clock on the following morning, when the men 
behaved with the utmost courage and resolution. In 
order that they might recognize one another, each 
soldier was to wear in his cap a piece of white paper; 
and some of them inscribed this placard with the words, 
" Liberty or Death ! " The forces were divided into 
two columns, the chief of which was led by Mont- 
gomery himself, while the second was under the com- 
mand of Arnold. But each of these bodies was sub- 
divided and sent towards various quarters, so that the gar- 
rison might be simultaneously alarmed along the whole 
line of their defences. Two false demonstrations, on 
the southwest and nearer the south, were to distract the 
attention of the British and Canadian troops, while the 
real attacks, which were to be on the Lower Town, 
were delivered by Montgomery from the southeast, 
and by Arnold from the northeast. 

Forming his small party of 300 men into Indian file, 
the chief commander led them to Wolfe's Cove, and 
proceeded two miles along the shore, by a rocky path, 
slippery with frozen snow. A northeastern blast drove 
in their faces the sharp and lacerating hail of those in- 
clement regions ; and the men, half blinded by the 
storm, had the greatest trouble to save themselves from 
falling on the rugged and icy way. It had been agreed 
that the signal for commencing the attack should be the 
firing of a rocket from Cape Diamond by one of the 
parties engaged in the false movements. This intima- 
tion was unfortunately given more than half an hour 
too soon, and Montgomery was compelled to hurry his 
advance. With a few companions, including the cele- 
brated Aaron Burr, one of his aides-de-camp, he arrived 
at the first barrier, while the greater number of the 
troops were still behind. He now found himself in a 
narrow defile, sloping precipitously towards the river on 



ye 



THE BATTLES OF AMERICA. 



one side, and on the other shut in by a scarped rock and 
overhanging chff The passage was intercepted by 
a log-house, loopholed for musketry, and by a battery 
of two three-pounders ; and the position was held by a 
party of English and Canadians, including some sailors, 
and numbering altogether 47 men. It was by this time 

daybreak on Decem- 
ber 31, 1775, and the 
main body of the 
attacking force was 
seen marching up 
from Wolfe's Cove. 
A panic seized the 
guard, who for a mo- 
ment drew back ; but 
their firmness was 
speedily restored, and 
with lighted matches 
they awaited, behind 
their guns, the on- 
slaught of the enemy. 
At the head of 60 
men, Montgomery, 
exclaiming that Que- 
bec was theirs, sprang 
quickly forward. It 
was the last act of 
his life. The English 
guns were served by 
nine seamen, and were 
discharged when Montgomery was within 50 yards 
of their mouths. The commander at once fell dead, 
together with one of his aides and 1 1 others. Mont- 
gomery was wounded in three places, and his fall expe- 
dited the inevitable defeat of the enterprise. 

A feeling of dismay spread through the American 




AARON BURR. 



(^Afterwards Vice-President of the U. S.) 



THE EXPEDITIONS AGAINST CANADA. 



77 



ranks at the death of their leader, thus occurring at the 
very outset of the assault. The captain of one of the 
companies was desirous of pushing forward ; but he was 
ill supported and unable to make his will prevail. The 
arms of some of the men were wet, and, in the opinion 
of some of the officers, nothing more could be at- 
tempted with fatigued and disheartened troops. Fire- 
balls were now being thrown by the British, and their 
baleful glare enabled 
the musketeers in the 
blockhouse to fire with 
murderous precision. 
A retreat was there- 
fore ordered, and this 
was quietly and happily 
effected ; though, had 
the garrison had the 
courage to pursue, it 
is probable that hardly 
a man would have 
escaped. 

The defenders of the 
city, however, were re- 
quired in the city itself, 
for a vigorous assault 
was being carried on 
in another direction. 

Arnold's division advanced along the river St. Charles, 
the path by the side of which was narrowed by masses 
of ice, thrown up by the stream. The men of the attack- 
ing force could only move forward in single file, holding 
down their heads to protect their faces from the piercing 
wind and lashing drift of hail and snow, and covering 
their muskets with their coats. They were met by a 
heavN' fire from the walls ; but pressing on, they carried 
the first barricade after an hour of fighting. Arnold 




GENERAL DANIEL MORGAN. 



78 



THE BATTLES OF AMERICA. 



was presently struck in the leg by a musket-ball, and 
carried to the rear in great agony. The troops were now 
headed by Daniel Morgan, of Virginia, whose self-devo- 
tion and military virtues were admirably displayed on 
this occasion, as on others; and it was under his direc- 
tions that the battery was taken, and its defenders seized. 
The Patriots surmounted the barricade by ladders, and, 
on reaching the other side, found themselves in a peril- 
ous position. The place was in darkness, and the cold 
so extreme that the men were covered with icicles, and 
their muskets rendered unavailable by the driving snow. 
Morgan knew nothing of the town, and was in doubt 
as to what he should do. In a little while he was 
joined by Christopher Greene, of Rhode Island, 
Timothy Bigelow, of Massachusetts, and Return J. 
Meigs, of Connecticut (all of them commanders in Ar- 
nold's column), and by the men belonging to their com- 
panies. The re-united force struggled on to the next 
barrier, and the scaling ladders were at once reared ; 
but the menacing aspect of a large body of troops on 
the other side, standing with levelled bayonets, made the 
assailants pause. Many of the officers were shot down, 
for the British fire came not merely from the soldiers on 
the farther side of the barricade, but from houses on both 
sides of the narrow street. Notwithstanding these dis- 
advantages, the Patriots maintained the fight for nearly 
five hours ; but at length the courage of several gave way, 
and they escaped over the shoal ice of the St. Charles. 
Towards daylight, those who remained, and who con- 
stituted the larger number, got into some stone houses, 
from which they poured a telling fire into their adver- 
sary's ranks, and were at the same time protected them- 
selves. But all was in vain. The defeat of Mont- 
gomery's division left the whole of Carleton's army free 
to oppose that of Arnold, for it was evident by this 
time that the other attacks were feints. An unexpected 



THE EXPEDITIONS AGAINST CANADA. 



79 



sally from the Palace Gate, in the rear of the assailants, 
overpowered the small but resolute band, and com- 
pelled a large number to surrender. The remainder, 
inspired by the reckless courage of Morgan, still fought 
on, in the hope of cutting their way out ; but the feat was 
impossible, and at ten o'clock in the morning they laid 
down their arms. Carleton buried Montgomery with the 
honors of war, and treated his prisoners with humanity. 

In i8i8, in conformity with a resolution of the State 
of New York, Mont- 
gomery's remains were 
removed from the place 
where they had rested 
for 47 years, in the city 
of Quebec; and now re- 
pose beneath the monu- 
ment bearing a record 
of his bravery and worth, 
which had been erected 
to his memory by the 
Continental Congress, 
under the eastern por- 
tico of St. Paul's Church, 
in the city of New York. 

Possessing military 
abilities of a high order, 
he never insisted on their 
supremacy when the 

good will of his men would be jeopardized, but sought 
to accomplish results by other and less objectionable 
means. He was amiable, benevolent, and strictly 
honest. His death deprived the country of an accom- 
plished officer, and the State of a useful citizen. 

On the death of Montgomery, Colonel Arnold 
assumed command of the fragments of the army, some 
800 in number, but feeling his inability to make another 
assault, or even to defend himself successfully, he with- 




GENERAL DAVID WuOSTER. 



So THE BATTLES OF AMERICA. 

drew from the immediate neighborhood of the city, 
entrenched himself as well as he could, and attempted 
the blockade of the town by cutting off its supplies 
from the country, where he continued till April, 1776, 
when General Wooster, who had wintered in Montreal, 
with his forces moved down to Quebec, and assumed 
the chief command. 

At the head of 2000 men, half of whom were unfit for 
duty, Wooster renewed the siege, opening batteries on 
the town from the Heights of Abraham and from 
Point Levi, on the opposite side of the river; yet but 
little damage was done. 

About this time Arnold's horse fell, injuring his 
wounded leg so severely that he was incapable of per- 
forming duty and forced to retire to Montreal, leaving 
to Wooster the sole guidance of the operations. 

Early in May Wooster was superseded by General 
Thomas, but General Burgoyne having reached Que- 
bec, on May 6, at the head of a powerful reinforcement, 
the Continentals were glad to escape, leaving Canada 
in the hands of England. 

Shortly afterwards, after suffering several reverses 
and the loss of its general, by small-pox, the army, 
emaciated, spiritless, starved, and many of them struck 
with pestilence, returned to the colonies, and the expedi- 
tions to Canada were suspended, to be revived again, 
years afterwards, with similar results. 

Originally designed with great care, and executed 
with exactness, these expeditions, in the face of obstacles 
with but few would confront, until the fatal thirty-first 
of December, each promised a brilliant success ; and, 
although the commander of the one laid his life on the 
altar of his country, and the other descended to a 
traitor's grave, the deeds of daring, and the disinterested 
patriotism which each displayed in Canada, entitle both 
to the grateful remembrance of their countrymen to 
the end of time. 



CHAPTER V. 
In and Around Philadelphia. 

Trenton (December 26, 1776). — In the camp of our 
enemies was exultation ; and gloom spread over the 
almost disheartened colonies. The best troops in the 
army had been captured at Fort Washington. The 
enemy had gained possession of Rhode Island, Long 
Island, New York City, nearly all the Jerseys, and 
awaited only the accumulation of ice in the Delaware to 
extend his conquest into Pennsylvania. The Patriot 
troops were exhausted, dispirited, retreating ; and the 
greater part of them would be entitled to their discharge 
at the end of the year. Washington never despaired ; 
he now formed the resolution of crossing the Delaware, 
and hazarding an engagement with the enemy. 

Two of the most important positions — Trenton and 
Bordentown — were occupied by bodies of Hessians. 
Trenton was more particularly exposed; and on Trenton, 
therefore, Washington determined to concentrate his 
attack. It was a desperate enterprise, and Washington 
well knew its risks. " Our numbers," he said, " are less 
than I had any conception of; but necessity, dire neces- 
sity will — nay, must — ^justify my attack." 

The British force at Trenton consisted of 1500 

Hessians, under Colonel Rahl, and a troop of Light 

Horse. At Bordentown, farther down the river, was a 

second detachment of Hessians ; and the other divisions 

6 (81) 



82 THE BATTLES OF AMERICA. 

of the invading army were quartered about the country 
from the Hackensack to the Delaware. With the quick 
reasoning of mihtary genius, Washington discerned his 
opportunity. " Now is the time," said he, " to chp their 
wings, while they are so spread." The plan of attack 
included a movement against the detachments stationed 
at Bordentown, Burlington, Black Horse, and Mount 
Holly, which were to be surprised by General Cadwalla- 
der, advancing across the river from Bristol ; while 
Washington, at the head of the main body, should cross 
above Trenton, and fall upon the Hessians under 
Colonel Rahl. 

On Christmas night, with 2400 men, he marched to 
the river. The current was sullen, and filled with 
craunching ice-cakes. In the blackness of the night 
they landed on the Jersey shore, and began their hard 
march of nine miles to Trenton. Many of the Patriots 
had no shoes, and left their blood-stained footprints on 
the frozen ground. Said Washington, " We will use 
only bayonets to-night — we vmst take the town." The 
Hessians were surprised early next morning ; the victory 
was won. The battle' lasted but 35 minutes, and the 
whole army surrendered, men, arms, and colors. Rahl 
did the utmost to rally his men ; but early in the 
engagement he received a mortal wound, and his 
soldiers, dismayed by the American cannon, which did 
terrible execution, became discouraged. A thousand 
of them, after endeavoring to retreat towards Princeton, 
and being intercepted by a detachment sent for that 
purpose, grew bewildered, struck their colors, and sur- 
rendered tliemselves prisoners ; the rest, including the 
Light Horse, had at an early period fled by the bridge 
over the Assanpink, and escaped to Bordentown. Six 
brass field-pieces and a thousand stand of arms remained 
in the hands of the conquerors. Nearly thirty of the 
Hessian privates, and six ofificers (exclusive of Rahl), 



84 THE BA TTLES OF AMERICA. 

were killed, while the Patriots lost only four men, of 
whom two were frozen to death by the intense cold. 
The rest of the night was consumed in recrossing the 
river, and before morning the last transport had landed 
the last Patriot soldier, with the spoils of the thousand 
prisoners-of-war, on the Pennsylvania side. The turn- 
ing-point of Independence had been passed. 

Princeton (January 3, 1777). — Howe was still at 
New York when the news arrived of Washington's bril- 
liant performance on the Delaware. Cornwallis was on 
the point of departing for Europe, but was recalled, 
and on January 2, marched at the head of 7000 of 
the best troops of the British army on Trenton, "to 
wipe out the late mortifying disgrace, rescue the van- 
quished, and by a single overwhelming blow annihilate 
the rebels." 

Again, on December 30, 1776, was the Delaware 
crossed by Washington and his crusaders of freedom. 
Washington knew that the enemy was superior to him 
in numbers and discipline. At a council meeting he 
observed that, from the number of hostile troops then 
in front of them, it was reasonable to suppose that 
Cornwallis could not have left many in the rear. He 
proposed to move, by a secret night march, to Prince- 
ton — thence, if no insuperable difficulties presented 
themselves, to push on to New Brunswick — and in this 
way to surprise the rear-guard, and capture their stores 
before the British general could come up. The plan 
was approved and steps taken for putting it into exe- 
cution. At midnight the march began. Every precau- 
tion was taken to mask the removal of the troops, and 
to deceive the enemy as to what was intended. Men 
were employed all the night digging an entrenchment 
close to the British sentries; the bivouac-fires were kept 
burning ; and a certain number of guards were ordered 



86 THE BATTLES OF AMERICA. 

to remain at the bridge and the fords until the approach 
of dayhght, when they were to follow their comrades. 

A rapid roundabout march of eighteen miles brought 
the Patriots to the eastern skirts of Princeton on the 
morning of January 3, 1777. The contending forces 
being equal in numbers and field-pieces, the ground was 
fiercely contested. The Patriots were at first thrown 
into some confusion by the unwavering obstinacy and 
vigorous resistance they encountered ; but by great 
personal exertions, in which his own life was recklessly 
exposed, Washington rallied his men, and, leading his 
raw levies to within 30 yards of the enemy, made 
one headlong charge. The British regiments broke 
and fled, unable to resist the terrible onslaught of such 
men. 200 lay dead and bleeding on the field, and a 
large number were brought in as prisoners. 

The loss of the Patriots in this affair has never been 
ascertained, the accounts varying from thirty to one 
hundred. The chief loss, however, was General Mercer, 
Colonel Haslett, of the Delaware line. Colonel Potter, 
of Pennsylvania, Major Morris, Captain William Sliip- 
pen, Captain Neal, of the artillery, Captain Fleming, who 
commanded the 7th Virginia Regiment, and three other 
officers. 

Washington desired to make a forced march on New 
Brunswick, and he did in fact pursue the regiments 
which he had broken up in the morning a considerable 
distance along the road ; but the soldiers, who had been 
without rest, and very scantily supplied with food, for 
thirty-six hours, and of whom many were insufficiently 
clad, and barefooted, were so utterly worn out that the de- 
sign could not be completed. After a brief pause for 
rest and refreshment, Washington advanced to Morris- 
town, where he went into winter-quarters. New Jersey 
was redeemed at this Battle of Princeton; and the 
colonies were saved. 



IN AND AROUND PHILADELPHIA. 



87 



The first great result of Washington's march to 
Princeton, in the rear of the enemy's position, was that 
CornwaUis was obliged to relinquish his posts on the 
Delaware. But that was not all. From his vantage 
ground at Morristown, Washington sent out detach- 
ments to harass the troops. Giving them no rest, but 
repeating the blows with the greatest rapidity in various 
directions, he compelled CornwaUis to abandon one 
post after another, and to withdraw towards New York. 
East and West Jersey were equally overrun by 
the Patriots, who, in a little while, made them- 
selves masters of the coast opposite Staten Island. As 
the winter progressed, not a British or Hessian regi- 
ment remained in the province, except at New Bruns- 
wick and Amboy ; Philadelphia was removed from 
danger; and the frequent surprise and cutting-off of 
advanced guards created a wide alarm. For six months, 
however, nothing further of importance occurred. 
Howe remained at New York, tamely acquiescing in his 
loss of the Jerseys. The Patriot troops at Morristown 
were encamped for the winter in temporary huts, and 
cantonments were established at various points. Thence 
they could readily issue forth on their rapid excursions 
against the foe ; but no general action was hazarded 
while the new army was as yet imperfectly organized. 
Still, the gain had been neither slight nor fugitive. 
The tide was not yet at its highest, but it had begun to 
turn. American independence was now assured. 

Nothing could exceed the effect of these successes. 
In New Jersey the alteration in public sentiment was 
remarkable. Towards the close of 1776, the King had 
so many adherents in that province that the Patriot 
army, in its retreat from New York to the Delaware, was 
received almost as a host of invaders. On numerous 
houses along the road, bits of red rag were seen nailed 
upon the doors, as tokens of attachment to the Crown; 



88 THE BATTLES OF AMERICA. 

and the British troops who followed were greeted as if 
they had been deliverers. By the spring of 1777, all this 
had changed. The British and Hessian soldiers had 
behaved with such cruelty and arrogance, that the peo- 
ple, in a {q.\v months' time, came to hate them. As 
Washington's forces regained possession of the State, 
they found abundant evidence that the people were 
no longer monarchical. Everywhere, the bits of red rag 
were being torn down from the houses with haste and 
enthusiasm. The rapid successes of the Patriot arms 
had rallied multitudes to the revolutionary cause. This 
was the case not merely in New Jersey, but in many 
other parts of the confederated States. A feeling of 
confidence was re-born. The hopeless despondency of 
the previous months was dissipated. It was seen that 
the King's army was not invincible, that the soldiers 
of the Republic were capable of victory, and were 
being handled with skill and resolution. With the 
restoration of confidence, the feeling of nationality was 
proportionately strengthened. The recruiting of the 
army went on more rapidly than it had yet done ; and 
several who had talked of leaving the ranks as soon as 
they were legally free to do so, now willingly remained, 
in the hope of future distinction. 

From this date, the American army became worthy 
of the name, 

Brandywine (September 11, 1777). — Howe, having 
spent the summer at New York, where he was closely 
watched by Washington, finally took the field, and 
manoeuvred to force the Patriot army to a general fight. 
But Washington was too wary for him. Howe now left 
New York with i8,ooo men, embarking on his brother's 
fleet, and brought his army around by sea, landing at 
the head of Chesapeake Bay, with a view of capturing 
Philadelphia. Howe's mysterious movements had 



IN AND AROUND PHILADELPHIA. 



89 



caused great embarrassment in the Patriot camp. 
Washington was sorely troubled during these weary 
days of waiting, hesitation and anxiety ; and it was only 
when the enemy had entered the bay that any correct 
idea could be formed of his intended attack. 

The judicious disposition of his forces by Wash- 
ington in the meantime had so completely covered the 
Capital, however, that the enemy was unable to take 
any advantage ; and when he landed below the head of 
the Elk, on August 25, the Patriot forces were ready 
to oppose him. Washington had not 8000 effectives at 
his command, while Howe, who had been reinforced 
from home, could reckon on the services of 30,000 good 
troops. 

Washington, fully conscious of the great inferiority 
of his army to that by which he was opposed, fell back 
from his first position after a few skirmishes, in which 
his troops were not altogether unsuccessful, and with- 
drew behind the Brandywine, a small creek, which falls 
into the Delaware near Wilmington. Taking possession 
of the high grounds near Chad's Ford, he awaited the 
attack of the enemy. The fords above were guarded by 
his right wing, under General Sullivan ; and the position 
on the left was held by General Armstrong, at the head 
of the Pennsylvania militia. 

At daybreak on September ii, the enemy was in 
motion, and the success which had attended the move- 
ments on Long Island, the previous year, induced Howe 
to attempt a similar manoeuvre in this case. For this 
purpose the army had been divided into two commands, 
and advanced in two columns against the Patriots. The 
right column, with 5000 men, was commanded by 
General Knyphausen, who took the direct road to 
Chad's Ford. The left column, under Cornwallis, num- 
bering 13,000 men, turned the right flank of the Patriot 
army ; a dense fog, which enveloped the country, greatly 



90 



THE BATTLES OF AMERICA. 



facilitating the movements by concealing them from the 
Patriot scouting parties. It was not wholly concealed, 
however, Washington receiving information, through 
Sullivan, of the movements, although the strength of 
the enemy seems to have been strangely underrated, 
probably in consequence of the fog concealing his 
numbers. 

Washington ordered Sullivan to cross the Brandywine 
and attack Cornwallis, while he would take the centre 
and attack Knyphausen. Before these movements could 
be executed, intelligence reached Sullivan that nothing 
liad been seen to excite alarm ; and this last report being 
confirmed, Washington and Sullivan reoccupied their 
positions. This change of purpose decided the fortunes 
of the day — the victory had, in reality, been gained by 
the strategy of Howe. 

On receipt of correct information, Sullivan again 
moved the three brigades forming the right wing of the 
army to meet Cornwallis, and took a strong position, 
with his left extending nearly to the Brandywine, both 
flanks covered with very thick woods, and his artillery 
advantageously disposed. In consequence of a dispute 
respecting the right of the line — the post of honor — 
between Sullivan and a French officer named Deborre, 
the division was not fully prepared for action when 
Cornwallis and the troops under his command, about 
four o'clock in the afternoon, swept over Osborne's 
Hill, in three columns, and attacked it with great fury. 
The Hessians led the attack, and as they advanced in 
an unbroken, well-dressed column, they were severely 
harassed by a company of Patriot light troops. The 
artillery of both armies opened with terrible effect, and 
the conflict became general and severely contested. 
With an obstinacy which older troops might have been 
proud of, the Patriots maintained their ground, and re- 
pelled charge after charge from the powerful and well- 




LORD CORNWALLIS. 



91 



g2 THE BA TTLES OF AMERICA. 

disciplined force which opposed them, until over- 
whehning numbers forced them to yield. The noble 
800 of which this brigade was composed could do but 
little in opposing the enemy, however, although they 
maintained their ground for a considerable time. Two 
of Sullivan's aides were killed, and Lafayette was 
wounded in the leg by a musket-ball, when, further re- 
sistance being useless, the remnants of the brigade re- 
treated, leaving the enemy master of the position. 

Washington now left Generals Wayne and Maxwell 
to oppose Knyphausen, while he and Greene and the 
brigades of Weedon and Muhlenberg, hastened to 
strengthen Sullivan. He was not iii time to prevent the 
retreat, but by skilful movements he received the fugi- 
tives, covered their retreat, checked the progress of the 
enemy, and kept him at bay during the rest of the day. 

When the report of the artillery reached Knyphausen, 
he attacked the position occupied by General Wayne 
and the Pennsylvania troops. The latter, with the 
light troops, under Maxwell, defended their position 
with great gallantry until intelligence of the defeat of the 
right wing was received, when a retreat was ordered, 
and in great disorder, and with the loss of all their artil- 
lery and stores, they fell in on Greene's rear. 

During the succeeding night Washington's defeated 
forces retreated to Chester, and, on the following day, 
to Germantown, where they encamped. 

The Patriots were routed, Philadelphia was taken, and 
the British army went into quarters there and at Ger- 
mantown. 

The strength of the armies has never been accurately as- 
certained. Washington's effective troops did not exceed 
1 1,000 men ; while the force of the enemy was estimated 
to have been 18,000 strong, with abundance of every- 
thing necessary for the prosecution of such a campaign. 

The loss of each is also a subject of doubt. Howe 




THE MARQUIS DE LAFAYETTE. 



93 



04 THE BATTLES OF AMERICA. 

reported to his government the loss of 90 killed, 468 
wounded, and 6 missing. Washington, from the dis- 
connected condition of the army, found it impossible to 
make a return of his loss. Howe reported that, in- 
cluding 400 prisoners, the loss of the Americans was 
about 1300 men. 

Germantown (October 4, 1777). — These disasters 
forced on Congress the necessity of again leaving Phila- 
delphia. On September 18, the members determined to 
remove to Lancaster, where they met on the 27th, and on 
the same day adjourned to York, where they assembled 
on the 30th. 

The arrival of Howe at Philadelphia was followed, at 
the beginning of October, by the sailing of the fleet 
under his brother. Lord Howe, from the Chesapeake to 
the Delaware, that it might be employed in forcing the 
defences of the latter river. To aid this work, a de- 
tachment of troops was stationed on the left bank of 
the Delaware, in New Jersey. A large part of the 
army was at Germantown and the remainder at Phila- 
delphia. This divided state of the British forces sug- 
gested to Washington the idea of a sudden attack on 
his opponent, such as might enable him to recover the 
capital of the State. The British encampment extended 
across the village of Germantown, at right angles with 
the main road. Fourteen miles off, the Patriots were 
posted near Skippack Creek, one of the affluents of the 
river Schuylkill. They began their march on the 
evening of October 3, divided into four columns, which 
were to approach the British by four distinct routes, 
and simultaneously burst on their right, left, centre, and 
rear at Germantown. Howe's forces were evidently 
unprepared for such an attack, which took them com- 
pletely by surprise. The action began a little after day- 
break with a bayonet-charge of great vehemence. The 




LUKD HUWK, COMMAMDER OF TH£ BRIXISU tLEET. 



95 



96 



THE BATTLES OF AMERICA. 



fighting was for a time very hot at the centre and on 
the Patriots' left ; but the attempt was unsuccessful, as 
others which had preceded it. So thick a fog prevailed 
at the time — and it soon got thicker from the smoke of 
the firing — that, at a distance of thirty yards, it was im- 
possible to distinguish one army from the other; and 
this led to bewilderment and confusion. The failure of 
the enterprise is described by Washington in a letter to 
his brother, where he writes : — "After we had driven 
the enemy a mile or two — after they were in the utmost 
confusion, and flying before us in most places — after we 
were upon the point, as it appeared to everybody, 
of grasping a complete victory — our own troops took 
flight, and fled with precipitation and disorder. How to 
account for this, I know not; unless the fog represented 
their own friends to them for a reinforcement of the 
enemy, as we attacked in different quarters at the same 
time, and were about closing the wings of our army 
when this happened." Want of ammunition in the 
right wing, which began the engagement, contributed to 
the discomfiture of the design. Each man took with 
him forty rounds ; and, in the course of the two hours 
and a half during which the fighting continued, these 
were completely exhausted. 

Considerable courage and good conduct had been 
shown at the commencement of the action, and the 
British regiments were at first thrown into disorder ; 
but, having recovered themselves with the steadiness of 
veterans, they inflicted terrible blows on their antago- 
nists. " In a word," says Washington to his brother, " it 
was a bloody day." Our loss, in killed, wounded, and 
missing, was as many as a thousand ; and, of the miss- 
ing, it is probable that many took " advantage of the 
times," and deserted. Howe reported his loss at 71 
killed, 450 wounded, and 14 missing. His troops had 
not prevailed without paying heavily for it, as at 



IN AND AROUND PHILADELPHIA. gy 

times the contest was furious. The Patriot army re- 
tired to its camp at VVhitemarsh, fourteen miles distant; 
and Howe sought safety by retiring to Philadelphia. 

Defeated though they were, the Patriots were not 
entirely losers by this transaction, which showed that 
they were equal to bold and daring enterprises in the 
open field. The effect from a political point of view 
was very important. Washington's courageous course 
and the unconquerable resolve with which he nerved 
his handful of beaten and half-starved troops to face 
Howe's army is the noblest of his triumphs. It made 
a deep impression on the French, who, in 1778, made a 
treaty of alliance with us. 

After these battles Howe tu/ned his attention to 
the forts on the Delaware, which prevented his bringing 
supplies up to Philadelphia. The gallant defenders were 
forced by severe bombardments to evacuate ; and Wash- 
ington retired for winter-quarters to Valley Forge. 



CHAPTER VI. 

The Campaign at the North. 

Bennington and Saratoga. — Burgoyne had been in 
England during the early months of 1777, and had 
there concerted with the Ministry a plan of the cam- 
paign. The army placed at his disposal consisted of 
more than 7000 regulars (English and German), to- 
gether with a great number of Canadians and Indians. 
This army was to be aided by a division under Clinton, 
who was stationed at New York, and was to advance in 
a northerly direction. A naval armament was also to 
accompany this Burgoyne expedition. 

Burgoyne undertook to force his way down from 
Canada, through Lake Champlain and Lake George, 
to the Hudson River. He was expected to capture 
Albany, and make a junction with the British forces at 
New York. The effect of this would have been to cut 
the United Colonies in two. 

On June 16 Burgoyne sent a detachment to make 
a diversion towards Lake Oswego and the Mohawk 
River, while he sailed up Lake Champlain. A few days 
later, he encamped at Crown Point, where he met his 
Indian allies, gave them a war-feast, and, in a grandilo- 
quent speech, sought at once to excite their courage 
and curb their disposition to ferocity. Burgoyne and 
Carleton had both doubted the propriety of employing 
these barbarians; but it was part of the Ministerial 

(98) 




GENERAL BURGOYNE. 



99 



100 THE BATTLES OF AMERICA. 

scheme that their assistance should be sought. Many 
incidents of the campaign showed how deeply criminal 
was the use of savage warriors in a contest between two 
branches of a civilized race. Burgoyne issued a procla- 
mation to the inhabitants of the country, in which he 
threatened vengeance against the people if they opposed 
the Royal troops, and alluded to the fury of the Indians, 
who were ready to butcher the friends of independence. 
He was very confident as to the results of his campaign ; 
and, in an address to the army, said : " The services 
required of this particular expedition are critical and 
conspicuous. During our progress occasions may occur 
in which neither difficulty, nor labor, nor life are to be 
regarded. This army must not retreat." It did more 
than retreat ; it surrendered. 

Burgoyne marched south from Canada with over 8oo 
men. He compelled St. Clair to evacuate Ticonderoga, 
and captured the artillery and all the stores that St. Clair 
was trying to move. He then went to Skenesborough 
(now Whitehall), at the south end of Lake Champlain. 
At length he reached the Hudson, at Fort Edward, 
having gained complete control of Lake Champlain and 
Lake George. General Schuyler exhibited praise- 
worthy energy in preparing for the defence, but, having 
but a small force, could only obstruct his path 
through the wilderness by felling trees across the road, 
and breaking down bridges. Burgoyne had in a few 
days gained possession of the strong forts on the lakes, 
destroyed a number of vessels, and taken 128 pieces of 
artillery, besides a large quantity of provisions, stores, 
and materials of war. His success spread the utmost 
alarm throughout the northern part of the Republican 
Union, and, in the same degree, raised sanguine hopes 
in England that the rebellion was about to be crushed. 

From Fort Edward, Burgoyne sent a force of his hired 
Hessians into what is now Vermont, to capture stores 




^PUf^-Zh 



I02 THE BA TTLES OF AMERICA. 

and horses. But the militia of Western New England, 
who were accustomed to the use of firearms from child- 
hood, gathered under the lead of General Stark, and at 
the Battle of Bennington ( August i6, 1777), utterly- 
defeated the detachments sent out by Burgoyne, To- 
gether with a large number of arms, 700 prisoners were 
taken by Stark, and 207 of the enemy's force were left 
dead on the field. The Patriot loss was 30 killed and 
about 40 wounded. 

This event was the harbinger of good news from the 
Northern department — that scene of disaster and trouble. 
The invader was paralyzed, the prospect of a supply of 
provisions became more gloomy, the dissatisfaction of 
the British forces that Hessians had been employed was 
loudly expressed, and the Indian auxiliaries abandoned 
the army. As soldiers these sanguinary savages were 
worthless. They disgraced the cause for which they 
pretended to fight. The spirits of the Patriots, and of 
the people, revived; the ability of the militia to contend 
with regular troops, posted behind entrenchments and 
defended with cannon, was demonstrated ; the move- 
ments of Burgoyne, and his abilities to do mischief, 
were checked; and new hopes and new resolutions 
were produced. The country and the world, then and 
since, has determined that the battle of Bennington, 
unimportant as it may appear, was one of the most 
important battles, in its results, of the American Revo- 
lution. 

After the failure of his attempt to obtain supplies 
from Bennington, Burgoyne was obliged to fetch his 
provisions once more from Fort George, and at last, by 
great exertions, succeeded in collecting a stock sufficient 
for thirty days ; during which time he hoped to reach 
Albany, effect a union with Howe's forces, separate the 
Eastern from the Middle and Southern Colonies, and 
lay the foundation for that complete subjugation of the 



THE CAMPAIGN AT THE NORTH. 



103 



rebellious colonists which was the object of the govern- 
ment and the King. He was soon unpleasantly con- 
vinced that his recent repulse had had a very bad effect 
on the population generally. The disloyal were encour- 
aged ; the loyal disheartened. The latter had begun to 
enlist in the British service; but they now hesitated and 
held back. The revolutionists were all the more inclined 
to take up arms. Every day the patriotic levies grew 
in number and waxed in spirit. The New England 
men enlisted in large bodies; many not waiting for any 
authoritative summons. In a few weeks Burgoyne had 
in his front a force of 13.000 irregulars — admirable 
marksmen with the rifle, if they were nothing else. An 
officer in Burgoyne's army records that in many poor 
habitations the people of Massachusetts parted with one 
of their blankets, where they had but two, for the use 
of the soldiers. In New England, the feeling was almost, 
if not quite unanimous. The masses were prepared to 
suffer anything, rather than submit. 

The two Battles of Saratoga (September 19 and 
October 7, 1777). — On September 13 and 14, Bur- 
goyne crossed to the west side of the Hudson, and en- 
camped on the heights and plains of Saratoga, twenty 
miles below Fort Edward, and thirty-seven above 
Albany. Gates was at Stillwater, and not more than 
twelve miles separated the two armies. The bridges 
between them, however, were broken down, and the 
roads were so bad that the British, encumbered by 
their train of artillery and numerous wagons, could 
only move with extreme slowness. Thick woods 
burdened the country. Frequent skirmishing took 
place, but the advance of the British was not checked. 
On the evening of the 17th, Burgoyne encamped within 
four miles of the Patriot army, which was drawn up in 
front of Stillwater, along a range of low hills called 



104 ^^^ BATTLES OF AMERICA. 

Bemis's Heights. This encampment had been planned 
by the PoHsh Patriot, Kosciusko, of whom Washing- 
ton had spoken as " a gentlemen of science and merit." 
On September 19, Burgoyne placed himself at the 
head of the right wing, and marched against his 
foes, who, not waiting to be attacked, moved forward 
also, as soon as they perceived the approach of the 
British, which was for some time hidden by the in 

tervening 
Gates, who 




well served 
number of 
scouts. 
Colonel 



forest. 

was 

by a 

active 

detached 

Morgan, 



the dashing ranger 
distinguished for 
his courage before 
Quebec and at 
other places, to ob- 
serve the motions 
of the opposing 
forces. Morgan met 
the advancing col- 
umn, and drove it 
back ; but the men 
were soon rallied, 
and, in their turn, 
compelled the Pa- 
triots to give way. 
The engagement shortly afterwards became gen- 
eral. The Patriots first attempted to turn the right 
flank of the British line, but, being foiled in this, 
attacked the left of Burgoyne's right wing. Reinforce- 
ments were hurried up on both sides, and, in the course 
of the afternoon. General Arnold, with nine Continental 
regiments and Morgan's riflemen, was closely engaged 



GENERAL KOSCIUSKO. 



THE CAMPAIGN AT THE NORTH. 



105 



with the Royal troops. Most of Burgoyne's artillery- 
men were killed at their guns, and the carnage generally 
was terrible. During the action Burgoyne had exposed 
himself with almost reckless courage, and it is surpris- 




PATRIOT SHARPSHOOTER UP A TREE. 



ing that he should have escaped unhurt. Several of 
the Patriots climbed trees in the rear of their country- 
men, and, whenever the volleys ceased for a few minutes, 
and the air cleared of smoke, took aim at the British 



I06 THE BATTLES OF AMERICA. 

officers, of whom, in one regiment, more than two-thirds 
were killed or wounded. 

For four hours, until sunset, this stubborn conflict 
continued, one party determined to conquer, the other 
not to be conquered, and darkness finally accomplished 
what man was unable to effect. The Patriots retired 
from the field in good order and without pursuit, claim- 
ing the victory because they had checked the progress 
of the enemy; the British retained afield barren alike 
of advantage and glory, claiming also to be victors, from 
their possession of the field of battle. 

The force of the two armies actually engaged was 
nearly equal, the Patriots numbering about 3000, the 
enemy about 3500 men. 

The loss on the part of the enemy was about 600 
killed and wounded. The Patriot loss was 65 killed, 
218 wounded, and 38 missing. 

Burgoyne felt it was unwise to make a fresh attack, 
though next morning he took up ground nearer to the 
American lines. Disliking to abandon his wounded, he 
refrained from any attempt to cut his way to Albany. 
He was now almost within cannon-shot of the enemy, 
and a pause ensued, during which both combatants forti- 
fied their camps. The Patriots were greatly inspirited 
by hearing that General Lincoln had assembled a for- 
midable body of New England militia, and, by a skilful 
disposition of them in the neighborhood of the lakes, 
had cut off Burgoyne's retreat towards Canada. Before 
the end of September, a portion of this force, amounting 
to 2000 men, arrived in Gates's camp, and added still 
further to his strength ; and at the same time several of 
the British outposts near Ticonderoga were taken by 
the New Englanders, together with many gunboats and 
other vessels, which were afterwards destroyed. An 
attack on Ticonderoga itself, and another on Diamond 



THE CAMPAIGN AT THE NORTH. 



107 



Island, where Burgoyne had deposited all the stores he 
had collected at the south end of Lake George, were 
repulsed ; but altogether the Americans had greatly- 
improved their prospects by these operations. The 
most sanguine anticipations were formed throughout 
the United States ; and they were not disappointed. 

Burgoyne had little to comfort him in the straits to 
which he was now reduced. He endeavored to open 
communications with 
Howe and Clinton, but 
without success. From 
Clinton, however, on 
the morning of Septem- 
ber 21, he received a 
letter in cipher, inti- 
mating that the New 
York highlands would 
be attacked about that 
time. 

No news of the 
expected co-operation 
having arrived, and the 
situation becoming ev- 
ery day more despe- 
rate, Burgoyne, on Oc- 
tober 7, determined to 
make a movement to 
the enemy's left with 

a portion of his force, hoping to discover a favorable 
point for forcing a passage through the opposing lines. 
He also wished to divert the attention of the American 
forces while another part of his army was sent on a 
foraging expedition. This led to the second battle of 
Bemis's Heights. The English troops were met on 
their way by a large detachment from Gates's army, and 
a furious combat burst forth. Gates, as on September 




GENERAL BENJAMIN LINCOLN. 



I08 ^-^^ BATTLES OF AMERICA. 

19, remained behind in his encampment, that he might 
superintend the general operations of the day. Arnold 
was there also; restrained from any share in the fighting 
by Gates's order — between whom and himself a quarrel 
had arisen some days before. In consequence of this 
quarrel Arnold was deprived of his command ; but on 
the 9th, hearing the firing grow louder and louder, he 
mounted his horse and rode off to the field of battle. 
Mingling with the combatants, he rode from regiment 
to regiment, searching out the hottest parts of the action, 
and issuing orders which met with a ready obedience, 
and contributed largely to the success of the day. 

Arnold was resolved to push his advantage still 
further. He gave directions that the British lines 
should be stormed, and under cover of a raking fire of 
grapeshot and musketry the Patriots flung themselves 
against the entire length of the enemy's works. Charg- 
ing at the head of the assailants, Arnold again distin- 
guished himself by his fiery courage and resolution, 
but was ultimately wounded in the same leg which had 
been injured at Quebec. Lincoln also was seriously 
hurt. The Patriots had forced their way into the left 
of the English encampment, but were ultimately driven 
out by its defenders acting under Burgoyne's immediate 
orders ; but the right and rear of the enemy's position 
were opened to the Patriot army. 

A second time the close of day put an end to the 
battle, and the Patriots were this time acknowledged to 
be the victors. Besides the loss of the field on which 
action commenced, and the entrenchments of the 
Hessian reserve, the enemy suffered severely in the 
killed and wounded among his officers and men. Be- 
sides General Frazer, who was mortally wounded. Sir 
Francis Clark, aide-de-camp of Burgoyne, and Colonel 
Breyman, were killed, and Majors Ackland and Wil- 
liams were taken prisoners, the former wounded. The 



no THE BATTLES OF AMERICA. 

exact loss of the enemy is unknown, but it has been 
supposed to amount to not less than 600 killed, 
wounded and prisoners. The loss of the Americans 
did not exceed 150 killed and wounded, among the 
latter of whom was General Arnold, who, just as the 
victory had been won, received a ball, which fractured 
his leg and killed his horse. 

Though only partial, the success of the Patriots had 
been great. They had gained a position on the British 
right and rear ; they had disabled many of their adver- 
saries ; they had made more than 200 prisoners, includ- 
ing several officers of distinction ; and they had taken 
nine brass guns, all the baggage and camp equipage of 
the Hessian brigade that had been defeated, and a 
large supply of ammunition, which they greatly needed. 
The state of affairs was so threatening for the Royal 
troops that in the course of the night they quitted their 
encampment, and took up a fresh position on some 
neighboring hills, with their right extending up the 
river. This change of front relieved Burgoyne from 
immediate peril, but brought him no nearer victory. 
It was the first occasion during the war on which, 
without the advantage of protecting works, without any 
ambuscade or surprise, in the open field, and by the 
operat^i<^ns of a regular pitched battle, the Patriots had 
proved themselves more than a match for veterans. 

In their new position the British remained through- 
out the 8th, offering battle, which Gates declined to 
accept, but made every arrangement for getting still 
more in the rear of the enemy's divisions. Burgoyne, 
on discovering this movement, saw that he had no 
alternative but a retreat to Saratoga. Such was the 
sorry result of an expedition which had been prefaced 
by the lofty announcement that " this army must not 
retreat." His troops were in motion by nine o'clock 
on the evenincf of the 8th. The sick and wounded he 



THE CAMPAIGN AT THE NORTH. m 

was compelled to leave behind in hospital, commend- 
ing them by letter to the kindly consideration of 
General Gates, which in the event was not found want- 
ing. The distance to be traversed was barely ten miles ; 
but the march was of a most laborious and painful 
character, Burgoyne was determined not to relinquish 
his artillery ; yet to convey it was a matter of extreme 
difficulty. Very few of his draught-horses remained, 
and the roads were heavy with rain, which now fell 
persistently. The guns were slowly dragged across 
the intervening country, and the progress of the army 
was retarded by this solicitude and by the necessity of 
protecting the boats upon the Hudson, which contained 
their scanty stores of provisions. The forces did not 
reach Saratoga until the following night. "Such was 
their state of fatigue," wrote Burgoyne at a subsequent 
date, " that the men, for the most part, had not strength 
or inclination to cut wood and make fires, but rather 
sought sleep in their wet clothes upon the wet ground, 
under the continuing rain." It was the main body of 
the army which arrived on the 9th. Some of the 
troops, and the whole of the artillery, were so much 
delayed that they did not pass the fords of the Fish- 
kill until the early morning of the loth. 

No real advantage had been gained by the removal. 
A division of the Patriots, marching with greater rapidity 
than the weary British, had got beyond Saratoga, and 
occupied the fords and other strong positions leading to 
Fort Edward. Another had crossed the Hudson, from 
the opposite shore of which so brisk a cannonade was 
maintained that it was found impossible to keep the 
provision-boats upon the river. The stores of food were 
therefore landed on the western side, and Burgoyne 
looked about him to see what new dispositions he could 
make. The prospect was depressing and terrible. On 
the hills round Saratoga the Patriots were posted in 



112 THE BATTLES OF AMERICA. 

force, so as to command the roads in many directions. 
For a time it occurred to Burgoyne that his regiments 
might, by casting aside all their impediments, escape by 
night to Fort Edward, with a few days' food upon their 
backs. To prepare the way for this movement, he sent 
forward a company of artificers, escorted by troops, to 
repair the roads and bridges, but was soon compelled to 
recall them, owing to the appearance of a large body of 
Patriots, ranged so as to indicate an intention of attack- 
ing the Royal army. Another scheme that suggested 
itself to Burgoyne was to take advantage of the great 
reduction of the enemy's forces towards Bemis's 
Heights, to retrace his ground, and to make a push for 
Albany. But, upon mature consideration, it appeared 
only too obvious that such a manoeuvre could not be 
accomplished. The army from which so much had 
been hoped was caught in a trap, and the necessity of 
surrender became clearer with every hour. 

On October 13 Burgoyne called a council of war. 
The Patriots were on the ford of Saratoga ; they had 
taken positions on both banks of the Hudson; they 
were between the British army and Fort Edward ; they 
had thrown up entrenchments, provided with artillery, 
on the high grounds between that fort and Fort George. 
On three parts of a circle they were strongly posted ; 
the fourth part, though open, offered but slight chances 
of escape, since the enemy would at once have closed in 
and pursued, had any movement taken place. The situ- 
ation of the British army was so absolutely commanded 
by the American cannon that no spot could be found for 
holding the council of war which was not exposed to 
the fire of artillery and small arms. Burgoyne's force 
was now reduced to less than 6000 men, of whom not 
many more than half were British ; nearly all his In- 
dians had deserted him ; and of provisions no more 
remained than would suffice for a week or eight days. 



THE CAMPAIGN AT THE NORTH. 



113 



Addressing his officers, the general declared that 
nothing would induce him to propose terms to the 
enemy unless he had the full concurrence of his com- 
panions-in-arms, and that he was ready to take the lead 




GENERAL HORATIO GATES. 



in any measure that might be thought necessary for 
vindicating the honor of the British arms. 

The council was unanimous for treating, provided 
that honorable terms could be obtained. 

Negotiations were entered into with General Gage, 
and the capitulation was signed on the i6th, and on 
8 



114 



THE BATTLES OF AMERICA. 



October 17, 1777, Colonel Wilkinson was directed to 
visit General Burgoyne, and accompany him to the 
Green in front of old Fort Hardy, on the north bank of 
Fish Creek, near its intersection with the Hudson, 
where his army was to lay down its arms. 

The success at Saratoga was soon followed by the 
evacuation of Ticonderoga and Crown Point, and the 
power of the enemy in the North was prostrated. Of 
the effect of this victory it has been beautifully remarked 
by Lossing, that " all over the land a shout of triumph 
went up, and from the furrows, and workshops, and 
marts of commerce ; from the pulpit, from provincial 
halls of legislation, from partisan camps, and from the 
shattered ranks of Washington at White Marsh, it was 
echoed and re-echoed. Toryism, which had begun to 
lift high its head, retreated behind the defence of inac- 
tion ; the bills of Congress rose twenty per cent, in 
value ; capital came forth from its hiding-places ; the 
militia readily obeyed the summons to the camp; and 
the great patriot heart of America beat strongly with 
pulsations of hope." 

Nor was the effect of this victory on the cause of 
America less apparent in Europe than in America. In 
the British Parliament the opposition led a terrible 
onslaught against the Government ; while the friends 
of America took fresh courage and manfully sustained 
her cause. On the continent, the American character 
and the American representatives were more respected, 
her calls for aid were more cheerfully responded to, and 
France, Spain, Holland, and even Russia and the Pope, 
manifested more interest in the ultimate success of her 
cause. 

From that day the United States of America assumed 
a position among the nations of the earth, and the effect 
of the struggle of her people was felt throughout the 
whole world. 



CHAPTER VII. 
The Storming of Stony Point (July i6, 1779). 

No portion of the country possessed a greater degree 
of interest, during the war of the Revolution, and none 
was more carefully guarded than the Highlands on the 
Hudson. The " passes " in these hills were the objects 
of the greatest attention ; and the student of the history 
of those times will have noticed the constant reference 
to that subject which pervades the correspondence of 
the master minds which, at that time, under God, guided 
the destinies of America. 

At the foot of these Highlands, on the west side of 
the Hudson, about 40 miles above the city of New 
York, is Stony Point — a little rough promontory which 
juts out into the river, and prepares the mind of the 
passer-by, on his way northward, for the proper atten- 
tion to those mighty barriers, which, just above, arrest 
the waters of the noble river in their tranquil progress 
towards the ocean. " The river washed three-fourths 
of its base, and the remaining fourth was covered, in a 
great measure, by a deep marsh, which commenced 
near the river, on the upper side, and continued into it 
below. Over this marsh there was but one crossing- 
place ; but, at its junction with the river, was a sandy 
beach, passable at low water." 

The army under Washington, in accordance with the 
defensive policy adopted by Congress, remained in its 

(115) 



ii6 



THE BATTLES OF AMERICA. 



winter-quarters, perfecting its discipline under the 
experienced eye of Baron Steuben, and preparing to 
move wherever its presence might be found necessary; 
that under Chnton, equally indisposed to move, remained 
in its quarters in New York, and showed itself only in an 
occasional predatory expedition to ravage the sea-coast, 
to plunder the inhabitants, or to burn their villages. 
In the latter part of May, Clinton moved up the Hud- 
son, with the evident 
intention to seize the 
passes in the High- 
lands ; and, on June 
I, 1779, he took pos- 
session of Stony 
Point and Ver- 
planck's Point — the 
termini of "the King's 
Ferry " — at both of 
which points some 
works had been 
thrown up by the 
Americans. His far- 
ther progress, how- 
ever, was arrested by 
the rapid movements 
of General Washing- 
ton (who had received 
early intelligence of 
the expedition), and, 
after leaving strong garrisons at both these posts, he 
returned to New York. 

The enemy's movement against the coast of Connec- 
ticut was intended to draw Washington farther eastward, 
and to afford CHnton an opportunity to complete his 
design ; but he was so far from succeeding, that the 
former took advantage of the division of the enemy's 




15ARON STEUBEN. 



THE STORMING OF STONY POINT. 



117 



forces to retaliate, by attacking the posts which the 
latter had just secured on the Hudson. A further 
inducement to do this was offered in the great incon- 
venience which the Patriots would experience in being 
cut off from the great line of communication at the 
King's Ferry ; in " the necessity of doing something to 
satisfy the expectations of the people, and reconcile 
them to the defensive plan he was obliged to pursue, 
and to the apparent inactivity which his situation im- 
posed upon him ; " in the value of stores, artillery, and 
men which it contained ; in the check which it would 
exercise on the predatory movements of the enemy on 
the Sound ; and in the effect it would produce on the 
forces if the campaign could be opened with a brilliant 
success. 

With this object in view, Washington employed every 
means in his power to obtain information respecting the 
strength and disposition of the troops within the lines, 
the character and extent of the works which they were 
erecting, and the points at which they could be attacked 
with the greatest certainty of success. General Wayne, 
who commanded the light infantry, was also ordered to 
headquarters ; and, two weeks later, the same officer, in 
a *' private and confidential " letter, was further instructed 
to make the preparations necessary for the assault on 
the works. On July 10, the commander-in-chief com- 
municated his views of the enterprise to Wayne ; and 
the letter, which also contained the details of the pro- 
posed surprise, is one of the most remarkable specimens 
extant of the powerful mind of this great man. Every 
portion of the preparations, every step of the movements 
and the attendant contingencies, everything which 
might, possibly, defeat the enterprise, had passed his 
scrutiny. The reconnoitre, the watchword and badges 
by which the men were to be distinguished from the 
enemy, the time of night when the enemy's sentries and 



Il8 THE BATTLES OF AMERICA. 

officers of the night were least vigilant, the necessary 
precautions to prevent skulking and desertion, and 
others, the most trivial, were the objects of his care. 
Yet, notwithstanding all this, the proposed assault was 
a profound secret. The brigade of troops commanded 
by General Muhlenberg was selected as a covering 
party, yet it was moved with some other apparoit object ; 
and its course was so regulated that it was at the neces- 
sary point, at the proper moment, so far as the brigade 
was concerned, by accident only, without knowing its 
own importance in the great drama. The enemy's 
artillery was to be turned on his own shipping, opposite 
the fort, and a party of Patriot artillerists had been pro- 
vided for that purpose, yet they took with them, from 
the park, two field-pieces, as a mask to the movement, 
and to prevent suspicion among themselves. 

At length, on July 14, Washington gave permission 
to Wayne " to carry it (the proposed attempt) into exe- 
cution, to-morrow night, as he desired," at the same 
time authorizing him to adopt either of the several 
** plans " on which they had conversed. 

But Wayne could find no " plan " better adapted to 
secure the object of the expedition than that suggested 
and explained by his chief. 

On the morning of July 15, three small parties of 
picked men, under prudent and vigilant officers, were 
despatched to secure the passes leading to Stony Point. 

The necessary preparations having been made, the 
troops assembled at Sandy Beach, 14 miles above 
Stony Point; and, at noon on July 15th, they moved, 
over the hills and through the defiles of the Highlands, 
towards that post. The roads are represented as hav- 
ing been " exceedingly bad and narrow," compelling 
the troops to move, the greater part of the distance, in 
single files ; and it was eight o'clock in the evening 
before the van of the column reached within a mile 



THE STORMING OF STONY POINT. 



119 



and a half distant from the fort. The greatest care had 
been taken to prevent the desertion of any of the party, 
through whose treachery the enemy could be informed 
of the expedition ; and the most perfect silence was 
enforced through the entire route. 

While the troops were being formed into columns, 




GENERAL ANTHUNV WAYNE. 



General Wayne and his stafif rode forward to reconnoi- 
tre ; and on his return the troops, for the first time, 
were made acquainted with the service to which they 
were ordered. Each man, at the same time, was 
ordered " to fix a piece of white paper in the mo.st con- 
spicuous part of his hat or cap, to distinguish him from 



I20 T^E BAITLES OF AMERICA. 

the enemy; " and a watchword — "The fort 's our oixm " — ■ 
was communicated to each, with orders to give it " with 
repeated and loud voice," " when the works were forced, 
and not before y 

The fort on Stony Point had been suppHed with a 
sufficient number of heavy pieces of ordnance; and sev- 
eral breastworks and strong batteries were advanced in 
front of the principal works, while, farther down the 
hill, on the land side, were two rows of abatis. These 
several defences " commanded the beach and the cross- 
ing-place of the marsh, and could rake and enfilade any 
column which might be advancing from either of those 
points towards the fort. In addition to these defences 
several vessels of war were stationed in the river, so as, 
in a considerable degree, to command the ground at the 
foot of the hill." The garrison was composed of the 
Seventeenth regiment of foot, the grenadiers of the Sev- 
enty-first regiment, and detachments from the Loyal 
Americans and the Royal Artillery, in all about 6oo 
men. 

With the utmost silence the columns pursued their 
way, until the small stream which separates the point 
from the main land had been passed, when the left wing 
diverged towards the eastern flank of the works ; and 
the right, with which was General Wayne, towards the 
western flank. Soon afterwards the North Carolina 
light troops, under Major Murfey, moved from the rear 
of the left wing and proceeded directly towards the fort, 
between the two columns, for the purpose of masking 
their approach. The tide being up, the beach was cov- 
ered with more than two feet of water ; and, soon after 
the columns separated, the right wing encountered one 
of the enemy's outposts, which fired on the assailants and 
alarmed the garrison. 

In the meantime Major Murfey pushed forward between 
the two columns, and opened, and kept up, a heavy fire 



Pi'N. ^- 






,,.ii 







THE ASSAULT ON STONY POINT. 



122 THE BATTLES OF AMERICA. 

on the enemy, diverting his attention from the real 
points of attack, and receiving the greater part of the 
heavy fire of musketry and artillery, loaded with grape- 
shot, which was opened on the Patriots from the works. 

With this exception not a gun was fired by the assail- 
ants, and the two columns pushed forward, through the 
marsh, in perfect silence. The abatis was cleared with 
more difficulty, and the obstructions thrown in their 
way were more formidable than had been expected ; yet 
" neither the deep morass, the formidable and double 
rows of abatis, nor the high and strong works, in front 
and flank, could damp the ardor of the troops, who, in 
the face of a most tremendous and incessant fire of mus- 
ketry, and from artillery loaded with grape-shot, forced 
their way, at the point of the bayonet, through every 
obstacle, both columns meeting in the centre of the 
enemy's works, nearly at the same instant." 

Scaling the parapet, and creeping through the embra- 
sures on either side, the assailants raised the cry, " The 
fort's our own," and drove the garrison before them, 
notwithstanding the most desperate resistance was of- 
fered. While this terrible hand-to-hand contest was 
raging within the fort, Wayne, who had been wounded 
in the head with a musket-ball, was laying near the 
abatis, where he fell, but when the enemy had surren- 
dered, as he soon did, the general was borne into the 
fort, " bleeding, but in triumph." Three hearty cheers 
from his victorious troops formed the salute under which 
the daring Wayne was carried into the fort to re- 
ceive the submission of the garrison : and the neigh- 
boring " Highlands," under the inspiration of the mo- 
ment, caught up the joyful sound, and tossing it from 
hill-top to hill-top, proclaimed, " The fort's our own." 

No time was lost in turning the guns of the fort 
against the shipping in the river, and against Fort 
Fayette, on Verplanck's Point, conveying to them the 



THE STORMING OF STONY POINT. 



123 



information that Stony Point was no longer in the pos- 
session of the King's troops. Tlie latter received the 
information in sullen silence ; the former slipped their 
cables and dropped down the river with the ebb of the 
tide. 

In this gallant affair the Americans lost 15 killed and 
83 wounded; the enemy I officer and 19 men killed: 
6 officers and 68 men wounded ; 2 officers and 56 men 
missing; and 25 officers and 447 men prisoners. 

The ordnance and stores which were in the fort were 
valued at nearly ^i6o,000, and this amount, in conform- 
ity with the promise of General Wayne before the 
assault, was divided among the troops in proportion to 
the pay of the officers and men; besides which ^1500 
were divided among the first five men who entered the 
fort. Congress presented its thanks to the troops, and, 
in accordance with the suggestions of Washington, 
ordered medals to be struck in honor of the event, and 
presented to General Wayne, Colonel Fleury and Major 
Stewart ; the country was filled with joy ; and even the 
enemy was compelled to pay homage, not only to the 
daring of the assailants, but to the generous mercy of 
the victors. 



CHAPTER VIII. 

The Campaigns at the South (i 778-1 781). 

Savannah (December 29, 1778). — Clinton was now 
bent on carrying the war into the Southern States, 
which as yet had but sHghtly felt the effects of the 
rupture. His views on the subject had been confirmed 
by the Home Government, and he despatched 3500 
men by sea to Georgia. The command was conferred 
on General Prevost. Savannah was defended by Gen- 
eral Robert Howe, but without success. His command 
did not exceed 550 men, but he was strengthened soon 
after with the command of Colonel Charles C. 
Pinckney, and others, and by Governor Houston of 
Georgia, at the head of 350 militia. With this little 
party he contested the possession of Savannah with the 
relatively powerful force of invaders. 

The inhabitants flocked to the King's officers, and 
made their peace at the expense of their patriotism, 
and Georgia soon became one of the most loyal of 
the enemy's possessions. The city was speedily 
mastered ; Augusta also was taken, and in less than ten 
days the whole province was reduced. 

General Lincoln was now appointed to the conmiand 

of the Southern Department, at the head of the troops 

from the Carolinas, and was joined by the remains of 

Robert Howe's little force, and contented himself by 

(124) 




SIR HENRY CLINTON. 



125 



126 ^'^^ BATTLES OF AMERICA. 

attempting to protect South Carolina from the ravages 
of the enemy. 

Prevost had under him some 3000 men, exclusive of 
the irregulars who had joined him in Georgia. Lincoln 
had 3639 men, of which number 121 1 were inefficient; 
and only 1121 were regulars, the remainder being 
inexperienced, undisciplined, and restless militia. 
Prevost attacked Port Royal and Beaufort, but was 
driven off by General Moultrie. Contented with his 

reception, Prevost made 
no further attempts to 
pass the limits of Georgia. 
There were several petty 
incursions and skir- 
mishes, but the British 
gained no honor from any 
of these expeditions. 




Siege of Savannah 
(September 23 to Octo- 
ber 18, 1779). — Prevost, 
though compelled to 
abandon his attempt on 
South Carolina, and to 
relinquish the upper parts 
of Georgia, was still in 
GENERAL WILLIAM MOULTRIE. a position to kccp that 

region in a state of alarm. 
D'Estaing, on his return from the West Indies, where he 
had been successfully engaged, with Admiral Byron, was 
requested by Governor Rutledge, of South Carolina, and 
by General Lincoln, to visit Savannah, and help them to 
expel the British. He assented, and, with 22 sail of the 
line, a number of small vessels, and 6000 soldiers, ap- 
peared at the mouth of the river with great suddenness. 
Some British vessels, being surprised, fell into his hands, 



THE CAMPAIGNS AT THE SOUTH. 



127 



and on September 13 he landed half his force at Beaulieu. 
Some of Prevost's regiments had been scattered among 
distant outposts in Georgia, and in the island of Port 
Royal ; but they were hastily called in on news arriv- 





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GENERAL CHARLES C. PINCKNEY. 



ing of the appearance of the French fleet. On reach- 
ing the town of Savannah, D'Estaing summoned the 
place to surrender, and Prevost, to gain time, requested 
a suspension of hostilities for 24 hours, which was 



128 THE BATTLES OF AMERICA. 

granted. By extraordinary efforts, the detachment from 
Port Royal arrived in the interval, and Prevost then 
informed the French commander that he would defend 
the town to the utmost. When the whole of his de- 
tachments had reached him, he had under his orders an 
army of nearly 2000 men. The forces under D'Estaing 
had by this time been joined by those of General Lin- 
coln, Colonel M'Intosh, and Count Pulaski, Heavy 
artillery and stores were brought up from the fleet, and 
on September 23 the siege began. For several days a 
scathing fire was poured upon the walls, not only from 
the batteries erected by the besiegers, but from a float- 
ing battery in the river. Yet no sensible effect was 
produced, and Savannah showed no sign of yielding. 

D'Estaing was disappointed, and, what was worse, 
he was placed in a position of no little danger. The 
tempestuous season was on the eve of setting in ; it 
was not improbable that an English fleet might be sent 
against him, or might imperil the conquests which he 
had recently made in the West Indies ; and a further 
stay in the Savannah became unadvisable, unless the 
town could be taken. The besiegers accordingly 
determined to make an attempt at storming the place. 
On the morning of October 9, 3000 French, and half 
that number of Americans, advanced in three columns 
to the assault, under cover of a heavy bombardment. 
They met with a resolute resistance ; but the attacking 
force pressed on, broke through the abatis, crossed the 
ditch', and mounted the parapet. Pulaski and 200 
horsemen, inspired by a desperate valor, dashed 
between the batteries towards the town ; but the heroic 
Pole fell mortally wounded, and the squadron broke. 
After a sanguinary struggle, lasting fifty minutes, the 
besiegers were driven from the works. Both the 
French and the Americans, but especially the former, 
lost a large number of men, nearly 1000, and, as the 




THE LAST CHARGE AND DEATH OF PULASKI. 



129 



I30 



THE BA TTLES OF AMERICA. 



siege was now quite hopeless, it was abandoned, and the 
armies left their ground on the evening of October i8. 

The Americans recrossed the Savannah into South 
Carolina, and the French hurriedly embarked on board 
their ships and left the coast; thus deserting us when 
their help was most needed. 

The general disappointment felt at the collapse of 
this enterprise was in some slight degree mitigated by 
a daring and clever feat executed by Colonel White, 
of Georgia. On the night of September 30, accom- 
panied by only six volunteers, he made such an appear- 
ance of strength, by the lighting of numerous fires in 
different places, and by other artifices, that he induced a 
British captain, posted near the River Ogeechee under 
protection of five vessels, to surrender, with 141 men, 
who were all secured, and conducted to the American 
post at Sunbury, 25 miles off. The exploit was much 
to the credit of Colonel White ; but it did not reconcile 
us with the failure at Savannah. With the raising of the 
siege of Savannah the campaign of 1779 virtually closed. 

Siege of Charleston (March 29 to May 12, 1780). — 
Clinton was resolved not to let the winter season be en- 
tirely one of rest. He could do nothing in the North, 
where the extreme cold prevented active operations. 
He determined to gain possession of Charleston, which 
would give him a hold over all that part of the Union. 
He sailed from New York on December 26, but did 
not reach Savannah, which was to be his base of opera- 
tions, until the end of January, 1780, owing to the 
stormy weather which prevailed, and the interruption of 
the American cruisers, which managed to capture some 
of the transports and store-ships. Clinton was con- 
voyed by Admiral Arbuthnot, " with a naval force com- 
petent to the purpose, and which was superior to any- 
thing in the American seas." 



THE CAMPAIGNS AT THE SOUTH. 



131 



General Lincoln had but a small and ill-regulated 
force at his disposal, and, to increase its weakness, the 
several divisions were scattered in various places. 

After repairing the injuries to his army and fleet 
at Savannah, Clinton proceeded north, and landed on 
St. John's Island, thirty miles south of Charleston, on 
February 11. Thence he moved to the island of St. 
James, sending forward part of his fleet to blockade the 
harbor of Charleston, and advancing cautiously until the 
reinforcements which he had ordered should arrive. 
This slowness of approach gave Rutledge and Lincoln 
time to repair the fortifications of the town, and to take 
other military measures. Elaborate works of defence 
were thrown up in front of the city, and between the 
Rivers Ashley and Cooper: and Lincoln hoped that, if 
he could delay the besiegers for a little while, reinforce- 
ments would arrive from the main body of the Conti- 
nental army, and compel the enemy to abandon his at- 
tempt. The fortifications were constructed under the 
direction of M. Laumoy, a French engineer in the Amer- 
ican service, and they compelled Clinton to make his 
approaches in regular form. Clinton did not hasten his 
advance, but erected forts and formed magazines at 
proper stations as he proceeded, and secured his com- 
munications with those forts and with the sea. On 
April I Clinton arrived before the walls of Charleston, 
and on the 9th Admiral Arbuthnot anchored within 
reach of its seaward guns. The American naval force, 
under Commodore Whipple, retired before the British 
fleet, and his vessels, being obviously incapable of re- 
sistance, were dismantled, and made to contribute, by 
their artillery and seamen, to the land defences of 
the beleaguered city. When Clinton had finished 
his first parallel, which was on the day of Arbuthnot's 
arrival with the fleet, and had mounted his guns, he 
summoned General Lincoln to surrender the town. 



132 



THE BA TTLES OF AMERICA. 



Lincoln refused to forsake his charge, and his adversary 
at once opened fire. 

Rutledge and half of his council now took advantage 
of the country to the north being still open, and left the 
city, that they might carry on the government of the 
State elsewhere, and might at the same time rouse the 
local militia. Posts of militia were established between 
the Cooper and the Santee, to cover the retreat of the 
Charleston garrison, if they should be obliged to retire ; 
but Clinton blocked up that avenue, by directing Tarlc- 
ton and a corps of light dragoons to dislodge the Amer- 
ican posts be}'ond the Cooper. That officer was con- 
ducted during the night of April 14, by a negro slave, 
through unfrequented paths to the scene of action, where, 
suddenly bursting upon the astonished Carolinians, he 
killed or captured several and dispersed the rest. The 
arrival of Cornwallis, with 3000 men, from New York, 
on April 18, and the entiance of the fleet into the 
harbor, had enabled the enemy to strengthen the troops 
which had been engaged in cutting off the communica- 
tion between the town and the country, and prevented 
the completion of the works which Lincoln had com- 
menced. 

Charleston was now completely invested, the second 
parallel was completed, and the spirits of the garrison be- 
gan to decline. An evacuation was talked of; but the idea 
was soon abandoned as impracticable. The investing 
lines were soon after strengthened, and, on April 21, 
terms of capitulation were offered, but rejected. A third 
parallel was commenced, and the despairing garrison 
made a sortie, but without any important results. 

On May 7 the garrison of Fort Moultrie, where the 
works had been suffered to fall into decay, surrendered 
themselves prisoners of war, immediately on being sum- 
moned to do so by Admiral Arbuthnot. The cavalry 
which had escaped, and which had by this time reas- 



134 



THE BA TTLES OF AMERICA. 



sembled, were again surprised and defeated by Tarleton 
on two occasions; and the condition of the defenders of 
Charleston was now so forlorn and hopeless — the 
troops being exhausted by incessant duty, many of 
the guns dismounted, and the supplies of food almost 
consumed — that terms of capitulation were once more 
proposed on May 8, but without success, as, in the 
opinion of Clinton, too many concessions were required. 
Knowing the town was in his power, he could afford to 
wait. The batteries of the third parallel did terrible ex- 
ecution. Shells and carcasses, in one unresting storm, 
were thrown into several parts of the town, and many 
houses were set on fire. The besiegers' works were 
within lOO yards of the walls ; and, in addition to the 
cannon and mortars, the rifles of the Hessian Chasseurs 
produced such effect that few escaped who showed 
themselves above the lines. The American engineers 
had declared that the lines could not be defended ten 
days longer; and when, on May ii, the British crossed 
the wet ditch by sapping and draining, and commenced 
preparations for a general assault by sea and land, a 
panic seized on all within the town. 

The garrison and the inhabitants — with such slender 
defences, so poorly supplied with stores and provisions, 
and so feebly supported by the militia of South Caro- 
lina — performed wonders ; and after the surrender their 
gallantry elicited the admiration of the enemy who had 
overpowered them. At length their provisions failed, 
and rice, coffee, and sugar were the only food of the 
garrison. The intelligence of this fact soon reached the 
enemy's camp. A shell, filled with rice and sugar, and 
thrown into the town, soon attracted the attention of 
the garrison, because it did not explode, and told, in 
terms of ridicule, that its distress was known to the 
enemy; when, in a spirit of proud defiance, the same 
shell, filled with hog's lard and sulphur (itch ointment), 



THE CAMPAIGNS AT THE SOUTH. 



135 



was thrown into the Scotch regiments, in the parallels, 
inviting them, in contemptuous terms, to employ that 
remedy to cure their traditional national infirmity. 

Some of the militia threw down their arms ; others 
begged of General Lincoln to accept Clinton's terms ; 
the civilians were clamorous for a surrender, and the 
Patriot commander, after enduring the siege for forty 
days and suffering a terrible bombardment, signified his 
readiness to accept the conditions of the stronger. A 
capitulation was signed on the next day, and Charleston 
passed into the possession of the British troops. 

Clinton stipulated that the town and fortifications, the 
shipping, artillery, and all public stores, were to be given 
up as they then were ; but, as regarded the surrender of 
the troops, the garrison were to march out of the town, 
and lay down their arms in front of the works, and were 
to remain prisoners of war until exchanged. 

The Patriot loss was 92 killed and 146 wounded, and 
about 20 of the inhabitants were killed in their houses. 
The enemy's loss was 76 killed and 189 wounded. 

Camden (August 16, 1780). — Georgia having been 
subdued, the war was renewed in South Carolina. 
Charleston, as we have seen, was attacked by land and 
sea, and after sustaining a siege of 40 days, and a terri- 
ble bombardment, was forced to surrender. Clinton 
returned to New York, leaving Cornwallis, the ablest of 
the English officers, in command. Gates, " the con- 
queror of Burgoyne," assumed command of the troops, 
and marched to meet Cornwallis near Camden. 

The forces under Gates were composed chiefly of 
militia — those from Virginia numbered 800 men under 
General Stevens, and those from North Carolina 2100 
men, under General Caswell ; besides which he had 
Colonel Armand's Legion of Regulars, about 120 men; 
the Maryland line and the Delaware regiment — the 



136 



THE BATTLES OF AMERICA. 



latter the well-known " Blue hen's chickens," numbering 
about 900 men ; about 70 volunteer cavalry ; and nearly 
100 artillerymen — in all about 4100 men, exclusive of 
Captain Sumter's command, of whom 3052 were "pres- 
ent, fit for duty." The British had 122 officers, and 
21 17 men, commanded by Cornwallis, who left Charles- 
ton for that purpose. 

Each party, ignorant of the intended movement of 
his adversary, had fixed upon ten o'clock in the evening 
to begin a night attack. The strictest silence was 
enjoined upon the troops, and orders were given to put 
to death, instantly, any " soldier who offered to fire 
without the command of his officer." Singularly too, 
the same silence that had been imposed on the Patriots 
had been ordered on the British troops, and thus the 
columns unexpectedly encountered each other in the 
woods. After some sharp skirmishing the armies waited 
for day. 

At daybreak Gates attempted to make some change 
in the disposition of the troops. The experienced eye 
of Cornwallis at once perceived the advantage which 
Gates was tendering to him, and promptly seized that 
moment to begin the attack by ordering his veteran 
troops to charge the moving mass of militia in their 
front. The result of such a combination of untoward 
circumstances ensued, and, after a single, harmless fire, 
the militia, forming the centre and left wing of the 
Patriot line, threw away their arms and sought safety 
in a shameful and precipitate retreat, which no authority 
could check, no entreaty overcome. One regiment of 
the North Carolina troops which formed the right of the 
centre, alone remained on the ground ; and these, for a 
short time, with the right wing, under the veteran 
De Kalb, gallantly resisted every effort of Lord Rawdon, 
and maintained their ground. At length De Kalb, at 
the head of one of the regiments, made a vigorous charge 



THE CAMPAIGNS AT THE SOUTH. 



137 



on the enemy, but fell, after having received eleven 
wounds; and was subsequently taken prisoner. A few 
minutes afterwards, by a united charge of the cavalry 
and the foot, the little remnant of the Patriots, no longer 
sustained by the presence and great example of their 
general, gave way before superior numbers, and aban- 
doned the unequal contest. 

So closely were the troops pursued, that no attempt 
could be made to rally them. " Never was a victory 
more complete, or a defeat more total. Every corps 
was broken and dispersed through the woods." 

Our loss on this disastrous field was never accurately 
ascertained. The noble Delaware regiment was nearly 
annihilated; its survivors, consolidated into the skeleton 
of two companies, under Captain Kirkwood, remaining a 
living monument of the determined obstinacy with which 
it maintained its position. Of the regulars, probably about 
650, in the aggregate, were killed, wounded, and taken ; 
of the North Carolina militia about lOO were killed and 
wounded, and about 300 (63 of them being wounded) 
were taken prisoners; only three of the Virginia militia 
were wounded. The enemy lost 68 killed, 245 wounded 
(including several officers), and ii missing. 13 pieces 
of artillery, 22 ammunition wagons, 2000 stand of arms, 
200 wagons, the greater part of all the baggage, all the 
stores, and 80,000 musket-cartridges were among the 
spoils of the victory. 

All organized resistance to British rule now ceased 
in the South. The defeat at Camden closed the public 
military services of General Gates, and proved the 
unsoundness of his pretensions as a military commander. 

CowPENS (January 17, 1781). — General Greene, who 
was appointed on December 3, 1780, to succeed Gates, 
found the army to consist of only 2000 half-clothed, 
half-starved men, without discipline or supplies, and 



138 



THE BATTLES OF AMERICA. 



without means of obtaining even the necessaries of hfe. 
Ragged and barefooted, many of these unfortunate 
creatures were reduced to the extremity of wretched- 
ness. Some weeks before, Greene had written to Reed 
that they were living upon charity — subsisting upon 
daily contributions. To Washington he said that his 
militiamen were as ragged and naked as the Virginia 
negroes. Yet their militiary conduct was admirable, 
and the firm discipline of Greene was visible throughout 
the ranks. Not a sentinel was lost by desertion ; not a 
murmur was heard from any one. 

He detached General Morgan, with about 6oo men, 
to take post in the country, and to check the enemy's 
foraging parties, while he with the main body threat- 
ened Camden. 

Cornwallis was at Winnsborough, waiting for rein- 
forcements from Charleston ; and Morgan's activity in 
checking the organization of Tories induced him to seek 
safety in an attempt to cut off the audacious intruder. 
Tarleton was therefore ordered on January i to oppose 
the movements of Morgan. With a force of over looo 
men on the morning of the i6th, he took possession of 
an advantageous position in Morgan's neighborhood. 

Tarleton's movements had been reported to Morgan, 
and, having refreshed his men, preparations were made 
for the action. His numbers were not quite equal to 
those of Tarleton, but his troops were fresher. There, 
on the morning of January 17, he was attacked by 
the English colonel, who, advancing with his usual im- 
petuosity, seemed to be on the eve of another striking 
triumph. The first and second lines of the Patriots 
were speedily thrown into confusion ; but retreating to 
the top of a hill, they rallied, and calmly awaited the 
British. The latter, exhausted by their previous work, 
ascended the hill in some disorder, when the Patriots, 
headed by Colonels Washington and Howard, charged 



THE CAMPAIGNS AT THE SOUTH. 



139 



their scattered ranks with so much vehemence and fury 
that they gave way at all points, and were pursued to 
the bottom of the hill. The cannon were taken, and the 
greater part of the infantry laid down their arms. The 
rest escaped, after a final and desperate charge by Tarle- 
ton at the head of 40 horsemen. Ten commissioned 
officers, and 100 privates, had been killed on the side of 
the British; the wounded were still more numerous; 
and the seizure of artillery, muskets, and stores, was 
considerable. The Patriot loss was comparatively slight, 
while the gain to the cause was even greater than it ap- 
peared at first. 

Cornwallis was vexed and astonished at the result of 
this action; but, although the partial destruction of 
Tarleton's detachment had seriously reduced his forces, 
he determined to make a vigorous effort to retrieve his 
fortunes. 

It was said that what Bennington was to Burgoyne, 
in the North, the Cowpens were to Cornwallis, in the 
South, the source of untold mischief, and the precursor 
of disaster and defeat. 

Guilford (March 15, 1781). — General Greene was 
now joined by Morgan and conducted the retreat. Rein- 
forcements from Virginia and North Carolina reached 
the camp, and on March 13 his force — including 161 
cavalry, and 1490 Continentals — numbered 4404 men. 
On the 14th, he moved to Guilford Court House, within 
eight miles of Cornwallis's camp, and offered battle; 
and despatched Colonel Lee, with the Legion, as an ad- 
vance-guard, on the road to the camp, some three miles 
from the main body. 

On the 15th, Cornwallis moved from his position, "to 
meet Greene on the way, or attack him in his camp." 

Taking the road, with Tarieton in the van, and the 
brigade of guards in his rear, he was met by Lee, who, 



I40 



THE BATTLES OF AMERICA. 



after skirmishing with the advance guard for some dis- 
tance, suddenly turned on it and cut to pieces a section 
of Tarleton's dragoons ; pursued and drove it into the 
light infantry of the Guards, who followed it ; and, fol- 
lowing the advantage, inflicted a heavy blow on the 
latter, and compelled his lordship to move the Welsh 
Fusilleers to support the advance and repel the assailants. 
The captain of the Guards and about 30 of the enemy, 
fell in this attack ; while Lee and his party, after 
winning golden opinions, even from their opponents, 
retired with but little loss; and the enemy approached 
the position occupied by General Greene. 

The militia fled at the first fire, but the Continental 
regulars fought as in the time of De Kalb, with great 
firmness and resolution. The Patriots at last retired, 
but the British had bought their victory so dearly that 
Cornwallis also retreated. Greene again pursuing, Corn- 
wallis shut himself up in Wilmington. Thereupon 
Greene turned into South Carolina, and, with the aid of 
Marion, Lee, Sumter, and Pickens, nearly delivered this 
State and Georgia from the British. Cornwallis refused 
to follow Greene into South Carolina, and moved north 
into Virginia. This engagement closed the long and 
fiercely-fought contest at the South. 

The Patriot loss was Zj killed, 18 1 wounded, and 
1035 missing. The loss of the enemy was 99 killed, 
406 wounded (among whom were Generals O'Hara and 
Howard, and Colonel Tarleton), and 26 missing. 

The only advantage Cornwallis secured was the field 
of battle, the heavy loss he had experienced rendered 
the relative strength of the two armies more advanta- 
geous to the Patriots. The great abilities of Greene, in 
bringing on this engagement, were soon apparent in the 
speedy retreat of Cornwallis from his dearly-bought 
position, leaving behind him about 70 of his wounded, 
and in the pursuit which was immediately commenced 



THE CAMPAIGNS AT THE SOUTH. 



141 



by the Patriots, and continued until the enemy had 
found safety on the right bank of the Deep River. 

The Siege of Yorktown (September 28 to October 
19, 1781). — The enemy, still anxiously seeking to estab- 
lish his power in the Southern States, had sent the 
traitor, Arnold, to Virginia, with a strong detachment 
of troops to co-operate with Cornwallis, who was busily 
engaged in measuring his strength and skill with Gen- 
eral Greene. Lafayette was sent to check Arnold, but, 
with his small force, could accomplish little. Reinforce- 
ments from France were now hopefully waited for. 
Count de Grasse, with a strong fleet from the West 
Indies, was expected in a few weeks. A conference be- 
tween Washington and Count Rochambeau was held, 
and plans of the campaign were discussed and de- 
termined upon. 

It was resolved to attack New York ; and, in accord- 
ance with these plans, the allied forces of America and 
France moved against that city. Every necessary pre- 
paration had been made for the commencement of active 
operations, when, on August 14, Washington received 
a letter from De Grasse, saying that the entire French 
West Indian fleet, with more than 3000 land forces, 
would shortly sail from St. Domingo for the Chesapeake^ 
intimating, however, that he could not remain longer 
than the middle of October, when it would be necessary 
for him to be at his station again. As this limited time 
would not permit the necessary operations against New 
York, the whole plan was changed, and it was resolved 
to proceed to Virginia, with the whole of the French 
troops and as many of the Americans as could be 
spared from the defence of the posts on the Hudson ; 
and instead of besieging Clinton, in his headquarters in 
New York, a movement against Cornwallis, and the pow- 
erful detachment under his command, was resolved on. 



142 



THE BATTLES OF AMERICA. 



Washington, by a feint on New York, kept Clinton 
in the dark regarding his plans until he was far on his 
way south with the Continental army. 

The troops with which Washington moved to the 
South, embraced all the French auxiliaries, led by 
Count Rochambeau ; the light infantry of the Conti- 
nental army, led by Colonel Alexander Scammel ; de- 
tachments of light troops from the Connecticut and 
New York State troops; the Rhode Island regiment ; 
the regiment known as " Congress's Own," under Col- 
onel Hazen ; two New York regiments ; a detachment 
of New Jersey troops ; and the artillery, under Colonel 
John Lamb ; numbering, in the aggregate, about 2000 
Americans and a strong body of French. It is said 
that the American troops, who were mostly from New 
England and the Middle States, marched with reluc- 
tance to the southward, showing "strong symptoms of 
discontent when they passed through Philadelphia," 
and becoming reconciled only when an advatice of a 
month's pay, in specie — which was borrowed from Ro- 
chambeau for that purpose — was paid to them. 

The allies, having thus successfully eluded the watch- 
fulness of the enemy in New York, pressed forward 
towards Annapolis and the Head of Elk, whither trans- 
ports had been despatched from the French fleet to con- 
vey them to Virginia; and on September 25 the last 
division reached Williamsburg, where, with Lafayette 
and his command, and the auxiliary troops, the entire 
army had encamped. 

In the mean time, the enemy, as well as the French 
auxiliaries, had not been inactive. Cornwallis, vainly 
expecting reinforcements from New York, had concen- 
trated his army at Yorktown and Gloucester, on oppo- 
site sides of the York River, and had been busily em- 
ployed in throwing up strong works of defence, and 
preparing to sustain a siege. 



THE CAMPAIGNS AT THE SOUTH. 



143 



Admiral de Grasse, with a naval force of 26 sail of 
the line and some smaller vessels, sailed from St. 
Domingo on August 5 ; on the 30th he entered the 
Chesapeake and anchored at Lynn Haven ; on the fol- 
lowing day he had blockaded the mouths of the James 
and York Rivers, and prevented the retreat of the enemy 
by ivater ; and, notwithstanding the absence of about 
1900 of his men, besides three ships of the line and two 
fifties, with their crews, had gone out and fought with 
the British Admiral, Graves, and his 19 sail of the line. 
General St. Simon, at the head of 3300 French troops, 
had been landed from the fleet on September 2 ; joined 
General Lafayette on the third ; and, on the fifth, with 
the latter officer and his command, had moved down 
to Williamsburg, 15 miles from York, and «// off the 
retreat of the enemy by land. Admiral Barras, with 
his squadron and ten transports, having on board the 
siege artillery and a large body of French troops, 
sailed from Newport on August 25, and entered Lynn 
Haven Bay in safety on September 10, while De Grasse 
was absent in engagement with Admiral Graves. 

The enemy's fleet, overawed by the combined 
fleets of De Grasse and Barras, had returned to New 
York, leaving Cornwallis and his army to the fortunes of 
war ; and enabling the naval force of the allies to 
co-operate with the military in all the operations of 
the siege. General Heath remained in the vicinity of 
New York to protect the passes in the Highlands, and to 
check any movement which Clinton might make for 
the relief of Cornwallis. 

Cornwallis had 7000 troops with which to encounter 
the army that was being drawn about him. His only 
chance was in extending his defensive works, and thus 
making an assault almost impossible. By the end of 
September, he had erected at Yorktown seven redoubts 
and six batteries, connected by entrenchments, on the 



144 



THE BATTLES OF AMERICA. 



land side ; along the river was another line of batteries; 
and on each flank of the town were the natural defences 
of deep ravines and creeks, the heads of which, in front 
of the town, and at the point of junction with York 
River, were about half a mile apart, while along their 
course he had planted redoubts, field-works, and felled 
trees, with their branches pointing outwards. The 
channel of York River was obstructed by sunken ves- 
sels ; ships of war were stationed under protection of the 
guns of the forts ; and Gloucester Point, on the opposite 
side of the river, was also strongly fortified. Such was 
the state of the defences when, on September 25, the 
greater number of the French and American troops 
encamped near Williamsburg. On the night of that 
day, Washington and his staff bivouacked on the ground 
in the open air. The Commander-in-Chief slept under 
a mulberry-tree, the projecting root of which served for 
his pillow. Next day, the allied armies took up posi- 
tions on the two sides of Beaver Dam Creek ; the 
Americans, who formed the right wing, occupying the 
east side — the French, to the left, covering the western 
bank. 

A letter from Clinton reached Cornwallis on the 
evening of the 26th. It informed him of the arrival of 
Admiral Digby, who, with a fleet of 23 ships of the line, 
and above 5000 troops, would sail to his assistance 
about October 5. A heavy firing would be made by 
them on arriving at the entrance to Chesapeake Bay, 
and Cornwallis, if all went well at Yorktown, was to 
respond with three separate columns of smoke, or with 
four should he still possess the post at Gloucester Point. 
The feeling of despondency had not then set in, or at 
least was not yet avowed, though the general did not 
think his position a good one. That same night, Corn- 
wallis abandoned his outworks, and drew his troops 
within the town. The outworks were next day seized 



146 



THE BATTLES OF AMERICA. 



upon by detachments of American light infantry and 
French troops, and proved serviceable in covering the 
men employed in throwing up breastworks. Counting 
Americans and French, Washington had now at his 
disposal an army of 12,000 men, exclusive of the Vir- 
ginian militia. On the night of September 28, these 
combined forces encamped within two miles of York- 
town, and General de Choisy was sent across York 
River with a sufficient detachment to watch the enemy 
on the side of Gloucester Point. Very shortly the line 
of the besiegers (where the Americans still formed the 
right, and the French the left, wing) described a semi- 
circle, each end of which rested on the river, thus com- 
pleting the investment by land, while Count de Grasse 
kept guard towards the sea. On October 3, Choisy 
succeeded in cutting off all communication by land 
between Gloucester and the country. 

The first parallel before Yorktown was commenced 
by General Lincoln on October 6. It was within 600 
yards of the British lines, extending nearly two miles, 
and was begun during a very dark night with so much 
secrecy that Cornwallis's troops knew nothing about it 
until daylight. The fortifications then opened fire, but 
the men were by that time under cover, and continued 
working with great self-possession. In less than three 
days the parallel was completed, and on the afternoon 
of the 9th a few of the batteries were ready to fire upon 
the town. Washington himself put the first match to 
the first gun, and a furious discharge of cannon and 
mortars burst forth, producing a serious effect on the 
buildings against which it was directed. The batteries 
thus brought into play were soon aided by three others 
managed by the French ; and the cannonade was kept 
up almost incessantly for three or four days. Many of 
the British guns were dismounted or silenced ; several 
men were killed ; and the fortifications suffered to a 



THE CAMPAIGNS AT THE SOUTH. 



147 



serious extent. All day the air was laced by the black 
lines of shells crossing each other's paths; by night, the 
blackness changed into a brilliant and fiery red, filling 
the heavens with a glare as of innumerable meteors. 
The French batteries, which were to the northwest of 
the town, threw red-hot shot, and in this way set fire 
one night to a large English ship and three transports. 
The cavalry were greatly distressed for want of forage 
for their horses, and many of the animals were slain, 
and sent floating down the river. Moreover, an epi- 
demic had broken out in the town, and hundreds were 
stretched helpless on their pallets. British and Hessians 
bore their hardships with great patience and courage, 
and everything was done that resolution and military 
knowledge could suggest. But the situation was des- 
perate from the first, and it grew worse with time. 

The second parallel was begun by Baron Steuben's 
division on the night of October ii. It was not more 
than 300 yards from the opposing works, and the British 
now made new embrasures, and for two or three days 
kept up a galling fire on the besiegers, who were still 
more seriously troubled by the flanking fire of two 
redoubts, which enfiladed the entrenchments, and were 
thought to command the communication between York- 
town and Gloucester. These it was resolved to storm 
on the night of the 14th; and, to avoid any jealousy 
between the two allied nationalities, it was arranged 
that the one farthest from the river should be attacked 
by a French detachment, and the other by a detach- 
ment of Americans under the command of Lafayette. 
The signal for the simultaneous assault was the send- 
ing up of rockets at eight o'clock in the evening. The 
Americans rushed up to the bastion they were to attack, 
pushed aside the abatis with their hands, and scrambled 
over the obstructions which stood in their way. With 
impetuous daring, the men mounted the parapet, and 



148 THE BATTLES OF AMERICA. 

without firing a musket, carried the work at the point 
of the bayonet. The French were equally successful 
with the other redoubt, which they attacked and which 
was defended with much obstinacy. In the end, the 
position was carried, though not without considerable 
slaughter. The struggle at both these redoubts was 
viewed by Washington with great anxiety from the 
grand battery, together with Generals Knox and Lin- 
coln and their staffs. Taking his stand at an embra- 
sure, he was open to the danger of chance shots, and 
one of his aides-de-camp pointed out that the situation 
was much exposed. " If you think so," replied Wash- 
ington, "you are at liberty to step back." A few 
minutes afterward, a musket-ball came in at the open- 
ing, and fell close to the Commander-in-Chief Gene- 
ral Knox begged him to move ; but he answered that 
it was merely a spent ball, and still remained at his 
post. When the redoubts were both taken, he drew a 
long breath of relief, and observing, " The work is 
done, and well done," called for his horse, and departed. 
Howitzers were mounted next day on the two 
redoubts, and the works of the besiegers were thus 
strengthened, while those of the besieged were pro- 
portionately decreased. Cornwallis, who had been los- 
ing heart for some time, now wrote to Clinton that his 
situation was very critical ; that he dared not show a 
gun to the old batteries, and that he expected new ones 
would be opened on the following morning. Experience 
had proved that the earthworks newly thrown up did 
not resist the powerful artillery of the allies ; " so that 
we shall soon be exposed to an assault in ruined works, 
in a bad position, and with weakened numbers." The 
safety of the place was consequently so doubtful that 
he could not desire the fleet and army to run the risk 
of endeavoring to save them. The arrival of the 
promised fleet might, however, even then have turned 




GENERAL HENRY KNOX. 



149 



150 



THE BATTLES OF AMERICA. 



the fortune of the day ; but no sail appeared on the far- 
reaching waters that spread towards the Atlantic. In 
this extremity Cornvvallis determined on making a 
sortie on the second parallel. On October i6, a little 
before day-break 350 men attacked two of the enemy's 
batteries, spiked eleven of the guns, and killed or 
wounded lOO of the French, But the cannon had 
been so hastily damaged that they were easily repaired, 
and by the evening of the same day the batteries of 
the second parallel were nearly ready. There was now 
no part of the whole front on which the guns were not 
dismounted ; and the shells of the besieged were 
almost wholly expended. Cornwallis had therefore 
only to choose between preparing to surrender next 
day, and endeavoring to get off with the greater part of 
his troops. He determined on the latter course. 

He planned to cross the river during the night with 
his effective troops ; to leave behind him his sick, bag- 
age, and other encumbrances ; to attack the French 
officer who commanded on the Gloucester side; to 
mount his infantry, partly with the horses of the hostile 
cavalry, which he hoped to overcome, and partly with 
such animals as he might find by the way ; to push on 
towards the fords of the great rivers in the upper 
country; and then, turning northward, to pass through 
Maryland, Pennsylvania, and the Jerseys, and so join 
the army at New York. For the carrying out of this 
hazardous enterprise, 16 large boats were secretly pre- 
pared, and ordered to be in readiness to receive troops 
that night at ten o'clock. A detachment was appointed 
to remain behind, and conduct the capitulation for the 
townspeople, the sick, and the wounded ; and a large 
number of the troops were transported to the northern 
bank of the river before midnight, without discovery. 
So far, the scheme had gone well ; but, under the best 
of circumstances, it seems very improbable that it 



THE CAMPAIGNS AT THE SOUTH. 



151 



should have succeeded. Between Yorktown and New 
York lay a wide extent of country ; in the rear of the 
retreating army was an army greatly superior in num- 
ber; and it is certain that the latter would have started 
in pursuit, and probable that it would have overtaken 
and defeated the fugitives, unless, as Cornwallis antici- 
pated, the allies had directed their steps towards the 
south. He felt his position to be so desperate, and the 
thought of capitulating was so bitter, that he resolved 
to dare the utmost dangers of an almost hopeless 
attempt at extrication, rather than agree to a surrender 
before every means of avoiding it had been exhausted. 
Up to the time when the first detachment of the 
British troops had landed at Gloucester Point, the 
night was calm and fine ; but a storm then arose, 
scattering the boats in which the second division had 
already embarked, driving them a long way down the 
river, and putting a stop to the further transportation of 
the army. The boats were afterwards brought together 
again with some difficulty; but it was then too late to 
proceed with the enterprise, and, on the morning 
of the 17th, the first detachment was conveyed back 
across the river under a heavy fire from the American 
batteries. The guns of the second parallel were now 
playing in combination with those of the first. Great 
gaps were torn in the already crumbling defences of 
Yorktown ; it was obvious that an assault would not 
be long delayed ; and it could hardly be supposed that 
so small a garrison, exhausted by incessant labors, and 
many of them weakened by disease, could resist the 
onslaught of a numerous host. All hope, then, was at 
an end. The mortification of a surrender could no longer 
be avoided. The fate of Burgoyne was to be shared by 
Cornwallis. Both of them men of ability, honor, and 
courage, they had nevertheless placed themselves in posi- 
tions from which escape was impossible; and to Corn- 



152 



THE BATTLES OF AMERICA. 



wallis was reserved the additional misery of reflecting 
that so serious a blow, occurring a second time, would 
probably ruin the British cause in America beyond the 
possibility of redress. 

A correspondence ensued to arrange the terms of 
surrender. Cornwallis required that the garrison, 
though laying down their arms as prisoners of war, 
sliould be sent home — the British to England and 
the Hessians to Germany — under an engagement not to 
serve against France, America, or their allies until ex- 
changed. Washington declared these terms inadmis- 
sible, and sent a copy of the rough articles which 
had been prepared to Lord Cornwallis, with a note ex- 
pressing his expectation that they would be signed by 
eleven o'clock on the 19th, and that the garrison 
would be ready to march out of the town within three 
hours afterwards. Finding all attempts to obtain more 
advantageous terms unavailing, Cornwallis yielded to 
the necessities of the case, and surrendered, with his 
entire force, military and naval, to the arms of the 
allies. 

At two o'clock in the afternoon of October 19, the 
British troops marched out of Yorktown, with drums 
beating, muskets shouldered, and colors cased, to lay 
down their arms before the American and French army 
drawn out in two lines (the Americans on the right side 
of the road). 

The ARMY, zvitJi all its artillery, stores, military-chests, 
&c., zvas surrendered to General WasJiington ; the navy, 
witJi its appointvic7its, to the Admiral de Grasse. 

The terms were precisely similar to those which the 
enemy had granted to the garrison of Charleston, in the 
preceding year ; and General Lincoln, the commander of 
that garrison, on whom the illiberality of the enemy then 
fell, was designated as the officer to whom the sur- 
render should be made. 



THE CAMPAIGNS AT THE SOUTH. 



153 



The reported losses were as follows : of the Ameri- 
cans there were 22 killed and 66 wounded; of the 
French, 50 killed and 136 wounded. The British loss 
was 156 killed, 326 wounded, and 73 missing. 

Thus was Cornwallis driven to a surrender as humili- 
ating as that at Saratoga. And it is remarkable that 
this surrender corresponds, almost to a day, with the 
surrender of Burgoyne at Saratoga, four years earlier. 
This surrender destroyed the last hope of England's ever 
being able to subdue America. Exultation and grati- 
tude broke forth from every heart when the news 
spread abroad. The cause of Independence was now 
regarded as won. The battles of the American Revo- 
lution had now all been fought. The American Colonies 
were irrevocably gone. A preliminary treaty of peace 
was signed at Paris in 1782, and in November, 1783, 
Britain reserved to herself on the American Continent 
only Canada and Newfoundland, and acknoivlcdged 
zvithout reserve the independence of the United 
States. 



CHAPTER IX. 
The Revolutionary Battles on the Sea. 

Machias (June ii, 1775). — The first naval action of 
the Revolutionary War, like the first land battle, 
originated and was carried out by tlie people, without 
any order fi-oni any Committee of Safety, Provincial 
Congress, or other body or officer of their creation. 

To the harbor of Machias, a King's cutter, Margaretta, 
convoyed two sloops, to be freighted with lumber for 
the army at Boston. On Sunday, June 11, 1775, the 
Patriots of the town, aided by volunteers from Mispecka 
and Pleasant River, seized the captain of the sloops " m 
the meeting-house," and afterwards got possession of his 
vessels. The MaTgaretta did not fire on the town, but 
in the dusk of the evening fell down the harbor, and 
next morning proceeded on her voyage. She was 
pursued by Captain Jeremiah O'Brien and 40 men in 
one of the captured sloops, and by 20 others from 
Machias in a schooner; and being a dull sailor, she 
was soon overtaken. An obstinate sea-fight took place ; 
the captain of the cutter was mortally wounded and 
six of his men were hurt, when after an hour's resistance, 
the British flag was struck, for the first time on the 
ocean, to Americans. 

The exact loss, on either side, has not been recorded, 
but it is not likely to have exceeded 20 all told. 

Fenimore Cooper appropriately said of this affair: 
(154) 



REVOLUTIONARY BATTLES ON THE SEA. 



155 



" It was the Lexington of the sea ; for, hke that 
celebrated land conflict, it was a rising of the people 
against a regular force, was characterized by a long 
chase, a bloody struggle, and a triumph." It was also 
the first blow struck on the water after the War of the 
American Revolution had actually commenced. 

Had the result been different, Jeremiah O'Brien would 
have been classed as a pirate and a traitor, and his 
name handed down to everlasting ridicule and con- 
tempt. Treason, when successful, is never treason. 

Loss OF THE Raleigh (September 27, 1778). — At 
seven in the morning of Friday, September 25, 1778, 
the United States frigate Raleigh, of thirty-two guns, 
commanded by Captain John Barry, sailed from Boston, 
having a brig and a sloop under convoy. 

About eleven o'clock two strange ships were seen 
about fifteen miles distant, which gave her chase. 
The Raleigh immediately hauled her wind to the 
northward, and night coming on, the chase was lost 
sight of Early next morning the ships were again in 
sight, and continued the chase all day. On Sunday 
morning, the 27th, the chase was discovered to wind- 
ward, coming down on the Raleigh with all sail set, 
when the latter immediately hauled her wind, steer- 
ing about north by west, which was also done by the 
enemy. 

In the afternoon the enemy's leading ship over- 
hauled the Raleigh ; and at five o'clock the engage- 
ment commenced. At the second fire, the Raleigh lost 
her foretop-mast and mizzentopgallant-mast, which gave 
her opponent a great advantage in manoeuvering, yet 
the battle raged furiously until night-fall, and the 
Raleigh " had the advantage." At this time the enemy's 
sternmost ship came up and engaged her; and for half 
an hour longer the unequal conflict continued, when 



156 



THE BATTLES OF AMERICA. 



Captain Barry wore ship, and made for the shore, with 
the intention of running aground. 

Unfortunately, the enemy followed, and a running 
fight continued until two o'clock in the morning of the 
28th, when the chase was shaken off, and the Raleis'h 
succeeded in reaching the land. 

It is said she ran aground on Fox's Island in Penob- 
scot Bay ; that the ship and 22 men were taken by the 
enemy ; and that the remainder of the crew was saved. 
Her captors were the Experiment, Captain Wallace, of 
fifty guns, and the Unicorn, of twenty-two guns, the 
latter of which had ten men killed, and was greatly 
damaged, both in her hull and rigging. Our loss was 
25 men killed and wounded. 

The Hawk and the Pigot (October 25, 1778). — By 
the operations on Rhode Island, the destruction of the 
enemy's vessels, the command of the ferries, and other 
lines of communication between the island and the main, 
were secured to the inhabitants, much to the annoyance 
of the royal authorities. To close one of these points — 
the east passage — a fine stout schooner, of about two 
hundred tons, was procured; her upper deck removed; 
lower deck pierced for twelve eight-pounders, which had 
been removed from the Flora; strong boarding-netting 
carried around her bulwarks; and 457 men, under 
Lieutenant Dunlap, of the British Navy, placed on 
board. She was named the Pigot, in honor of the royal 
commander on Rliode Island, and, anchored near How- 
land's Ferry, at the mouth of the Seaconet, " she com- 
pletely barred its entrance, and, for a long period, kept 
a sullen and undisturbed watch, greatly to the detriment 
of the island and the Patriot Army." 

Against this vessel, on October 25, Major Talbot, with 
45 men, and two three-pounders, left Providence on a 
small coasting-sloop called the Haivk. Soon after he 



REVOLUTIONARY BATTLES ON THE SEA. 



157 



left the town, the wind died away, and he was compelled 
to anchor and remain there during that and the follow- 
ing days. On the night of the 26th the wind again 
favored the expedition, and it proceeded as far as the 
Taunton River, receiving, on its way, the fire of the 
enemy's battery at the Bristol Ferry. The wind being 
unfavorable for the new course which the sloop had to 
take, on the following morning Major Talbot went on 
shore, and, on horseback, proceeded to reconnoitre the 
enemy. He rode down until he came opposite the 
Pigot, when her position, equipments, &c., were care- 
fully examined and noted, after which he returned to his 
vessel, and prepared for action. Fearing that his force 
was insufficient to accomplish his object, he applied to 
General Cornell for a reinforcement ; and, about nine in 
the evening, after receiving an addition to his small 
party of 15 men and Lieutenant Helms, from the Rhode 
Island line, he weighed anchor, and sailed down the 
passage. When he approached the Fogland Fort he 
lowered his sails and drifted down under bare poles, se- 
curing his passage through that part of the channel 
without being discovered. 

Having lashed a kedge-anchor on his jib-boom, and 
hoisted his sail again, he speedily neared the Pigot, was 
hailed, and made no answer. The sentries' muskets 
were then discharged at the Hazvk, but, such was her 
headway, at half-past one on the morning of the 28th, 
before a cannon could be discharged by the schooner, 
she was alongside the Pigot\ the anchor on her jib- 
boom had torn the netting from the bulwarks of the 
schooner, and had grappled her fore-shrouds; and 
Helms and his party of 15 men had gained her deck, 
sword in hand. A brisk fire was immediately opened 
on the Pigot, and her crew, terrified at the audacity of 
her assailants, begged for quarter and ran below, leav- 
ing the deck unoccupied. The crew of the Hawk im- 



I3S THE BATTLES OF AMERICA. 

mediately passed over the bowsprit of the sloop and 
boarded the schooner; while Lieutenant Dunlap, her 
commander, in his shirt and drawers, rushed from his 
berth, and gallantly defended his vessel single-handed; 
but liis braver)' availed nothing, and, in a few minutes, 
his crew was safely secured in the hold of the vessel, 
her anchor was weighed, and, with the Hazi-k, she was 
on her way down the Narragansett Bay, neither party 
having lost a man. 

On the following day the vessels reached Stoning- 
ton in safety ; whence the prisoners were marched, in 
triumph to Providence. " Congratulations, acknowl- 
edgements, and honors were proferred the bold leader 
in this enterprise from all quarters. The Assembly of 
Rhode Island presented him with a sword ; " the " Con- 
gress of the United States presented its thanks, and 
a lieutenant-colonel's commission; " but, perhaps of all 
the compliments bestowed on the occasion, the one he 
received with the greatest relish was the character 
awarded him in the British report of the loss of the 
FHgot — ''One of the greatest arch-rebels in nature." 

John P.\ul Jones was born in Scotland on July 6, 
1747. and was the son of a market-gardener named 
Paul. Being accustomed to the sight of shipping from 
his childhood, he acquired in this way a passion for the 
sea. While yet a boy, he became a sailor in the mer- 
chant service, and went to America. An elder brother 
was married and settled in Virginia, where he became a 
planter. For a while he was in the slave trade ; but 
his large luimanit}' revolted at the business, and, devot- 
ing himself to trade with the West Indies, he became 
rich. At the opening of the Revolutionary War, he 
took his stand with the Patriots ; and, on its being de- 
termined by Congress to fit up a naval force. Jones, then 
a vigorous young man of 28, was appointed first lieuten- 




COMMODORE JOHN FAUL JONES. 



159 



l6o THE BATTLES OF AMERICA. 

ant of the Alfred, on board which ship he hoisted with 
his own hands, for the first time it had ever been dis- 
played in a national ship, the flag of independent America. 
It bore the device of a pine tree with a rattlesnake coiled 
at its root. 

Soon displaying the high qualities of seamanship and 
daring, he was put in command of the sloop ProvideJice, 
carrying 12 guns and 70 men. During his first cruise 
of six weeks, he made 16 prizes. Appointed a captain 
in 1776, he was given command of the Alfred, and the 
year following of the Ranger, when he sailed to the 
British waters to revenge on the shores of his native 
land the injuries which British ships had inflicted on 
the coasts of his adopted country. 

After staying for a while in the Solway Firth, close to 
the spot where he was born, he rowed with 31 volun- 
teers, in two boats, to the coast of Cumberland, and in 
the harbor of Whitehaven, set fire to three vessels, and 
spiked a large number of cannon in the guard room of 
the fort. In the course of four weeks — at the end of 
which time he sailed for Brest — this daring seaman had 
destroyed 26 valuable ships, thrown the coasts of Scot- 
land and Ireland into a fever of alarm, occasioned the 
Irish volunteers to be embodied, and compelled the 
English Government to expend a considerable sum of 
money in fortifying the harbors. 

Capture of the Serapis and Scarborough (Sep- 
tember 23, 1779). — During the summer of 1779, through 
the exertions of Benjamin Franklin, a squadron was 
fitted out in France, and the command given to Captain 
John Paul Jones. It consisted of the Bon Homme 
Richard — an old East Indiaman (which had been con- 
demned and laid up as a hulk), mounting 6 old eighteen- 
pounders in the gun-room, 28 old twelve-pounders on 
her main-deck, and 8 six-pounders on her quarter- 
deck and forecastle ; the Alliance — a fine Continental 



REVOLUTIONARY BATTLES ON THE SEA. i6i 

frigate mounting 36 guns ; the Pallas — a merchant ship 
carrying 32 guns ; the Vengeance — a merchant brig carry- 
ing 12 guns; and the Cerf — a fine large cutter mount- 
ing 18 guns. The cost attending this squadron appears 
to have been borne in part by the French King, in part 
by the American Commissioners, and the remainder by 
a banker in Paris. 

After cruising on the coast of Great Britain, and 
spreading terror among her people for several weeks, 
on September 23, 1779, while in company with the 
Alliance and the Pallas, Commodore Jones was cruising 
off Flamborough Head, on the coast of Yorkshire, 
England, and discovered a fleet of more than forty sail. 
From intelligence which the commodore possessed, he 
was convinced that this was the Baltic fleet, which was 
returning home under convoy of the Serapis, 44, and 
the Countess of Scarborough, 22 guns ; and he prepared 
for attack. Perceiving from his movements, that the 
little squadron was an enemy, the commandant of the 
Serapis signalled to his consort to follow him, and 
hauled out to sea, until he had got to windward of his 
convoy, when he tacked and stood inshore again, to 
cover it, and enable it to find shelter near Scarborough. 

Jones signalled his consorts to form a line, with the 
Pallas in the van, and the Alliance astern of the Richard, 
and to chase the enemy ; but the insubordination of the 
captain of the Alliance frustrated all the plans, and he 
not only deprived the commodore of the assistance of 
that vessel, but endeavored to withdraw that of the 
Pallas also. Jones, notwithstanding this diminution of 
his force, stood steadily on, and, about seven o'clock, 
he came up with the Serapis, the Cotmtess of Scar- 
borough being a short distance to leeward. 

The Serapis was a new, double-decked " forty-four," 
and was considered a fast sailer. She mounted twenty 
eighteen-pounders on her lower gun-deck, twenty nine- 



1 52 THE BATTLES OF AMERICA. 

pounders on her upper gun-deck, and ten six-pounders 
on her quarter-deck and forecastle ; and her crew was a 
fine one of 320 men, commanded by Captain Richard 
Pearson. 

The weather was clear, the surface of the sea unruffled, 
and, just as the RicJiard came within gun-shot of her 
opponent, the moon rose with unusual splendor, to re- 
veal the terrible struggle which was about to open to 
the anxious spectators who had crowded on the edges 
of the cliffs, which, at that place, formed the coast of 
England. " What ship is that? " was asked by the cap- 
tain of the Scrapis as the RicJiard came up; and, 
" Come a little nearer and I will tell you," was the 
equivocal reply. "What are you laden with?" was 
the next inquiry ; and the answer, " Round, grape, and 
double-head shot," hurled back a defiance on the self- 
conceited interrogator. A broadside from the Serapis 
immediately thundered in response, and the action 
began. The sea being smooth, Jones relied greatly on 
the six eighteen-pounders which had been mounted 
in the gun-room, but, at the first discharge, two of them 
burst, blowing up the deck above, and killing and 
wounding nearly all the men who were stationed at 
them. The four which remained were immediately 
abandoned, and the men who were stationed at them 
were posted elsewhere. The abandonment of these 
guns rendered the contest still more uneven, especially 
when, ten minutes later, the enemy ran out his eighteen- 
pounders on the lower deck, and opened that terrible 
fire which reduced the Richard to a perfect wreck before 
the close of the action. The Richard, having backed 
her topsails, exchanged several broadsides with her 
opponent, when she filled again, and shot ahead of her; 
upon which the latter luffed across the Richard's stern, 
pouring in a raking broadside, as she passed, and came 
up on the weather quarter of the latter, taking the wind 



REVOLUTIONARY BATTLES ON THE SEA. 163 

out of her sails, and in her turn passing ahead. While 
the Serapis was thus ahead of the RicJiard, she failed in 
an attempt to go down athwart the fore-foot of the 
latter, to rake her, and was obliged to put her helm 
hard down to keep clear of her. In this manner she 
lost some of her way, while the Ricliard, keeping on her 
course, and taking advantage of a fresh breeze which at 
that moment filled her sails, soon ran aboard of her, 
bows on, the jib-boom of the former passing between 
the starboard mizzen-shrouds and the mizzen-vang of 
the Serapis. The commodore immediately ordered the 
grappling-irons to be thrown out, and the boarders to 
stand by, but the chains attached to the irons were cut 
away by the enemy, and the vessels separated. As 
soon as she had obtained room to do so, the Serapis 
put her helm hard down, laid all aback forward, shiv- 
ered her after-sails, and wore short round, with the in- 
tention, it is supposed, of luffing up athwart the Rich- 
ard's bow, in order to rake her again. Perceiving the 
object of the enemy, and knowing his own weakness, 
Jones ordered the sailing-master of the Ricliard to lay 
the enemy on board again, when the helm was put hard- 
a-weather, and the Serapis laid ath wart-hawse, the jib- 
boom of the latter passing through the mizzen-shrouds 
of the former. The Ricliard' s grappling-irons were again 
thrown out ; while the jib-stay of the Serapis — which 
had been cut away — was employed to make the latter 
fast to the mizzen-mast of the former. The pressure of 
the breeze on the after-sails of the Serapis, and the strain 
produced by the crew of the Richard by means of the 
trailings attached to their grappling-irons, soon caused 
the jib-boom of the former to give way, when the two 
ships dropped alongside of each other, head and stern, 
and the fluke of the spare anchor of the Serapis hooking 
on the quarter of the Richard, they were firmly secured, 
so near to each other that the muzzles of their guns 



164 



THE BA TTLES OF AMERICA. 



touched each other's sides. During all this time the 
cannonade continued with great fury, and both vessels 
suffered severely. A strong force having been placed in 
the Richard's tops, and a constant fire maintained there- 
from, the men in the tops of the Serapis, as well as those 
on her quarter-deck and forecastle, suffered very severely. 

Soon after the vessels had been lashed together, it 
was seen that the current was carrying them in shore, 
and the Serapis dropped her anchor, with the hope that 
the Richard would drift clear of her. But this hope was 
not realized, and as the vessels slowly turned to the tide, 
the enemy attempted to board the Richard, but were 
repulsed. Each party speedily followed in similar at- 
tempts to board, but neither succeeded although many 
lives were lost in the several attempts. 

At this time the vessels, firmly secured to each other, 
laid at anchor in about ten fathoms of water. They had 
been engaged about three-quarters of an hour, and, 
with increased fury, the conflict continued. The tops 
of the Serapis had been cleared, and the crews of her 
quarter and main decks were falling rapidly before the 
fire of the Richard's topsmen, and before the hand- 
grenades which were thrown among them. The greater 
part of her guns, from the position of the Richard, had 
been rendered useless, four only, on her starboard bow 
— two eighteen-pounders on her lower gun-deck, and 
two nine-pounders on her upper gun-deck — being 
effective. The Richard, also, had suffered severely, 
both in her hull and in the ranks of her crew, and she, 
too, had but two or three of her small guns in use on 
her upper deck. Her crew had mostly abandoned the 
lower decks to escape the fire of the Serapis; and 
through the port-holes, with lances, pikes, pistols, and 
grenades, they attacked the enemy's crew. The singu- 
lar spectacle was thus presented of our forces com- 
manding the upper deck and the tops of the Serapis, and 



REVOLUTIONARY BATTLES ON THE SEA. 



165 



driving the men therefrom ; while, at the same moment, 
the enemy was tearing the Richard's lower deck to 
pieces, and forcing her crew to seek shelter in her fore- 
castle and on her upper decks. 

In this singular condition the battle raged furiously, 
until some of the light sails on the Scrapis took fire, 
which spread to the rigging, and thence to the Richard's 
tops, when the firing ceased, and the crews of both ships 
joined in combating their new enemy. After some 
time spent in this manner the fire was extinguished, and, 
immediately afterwards, the battle was renewed. A 
dozen times was this scene repeated — alternately com- 
bating each other, and the flames, which threatened de- 
struction to both. 

Thus hour after hour this unparalleled conflict con- 
tinued, one having resolved to conquer, the other not 
to be conquered. At length, at half-past nine o'clock, 
one of those sudden dispensations of Providence, which 
no one can foresee, scattered the crew of the Scrapis from 
her main-deck, and gave us the victory. Some time 
previous, one of the Richard's topsmen had passed 
over to the main-top of the Scrapis with a match and a 
bucket filled with grenades, where he emploj^ed himself 
in dropping these combustibles among the crew beneath 
him. At the same time the powder-boys, on the main- 
deck of the Scrapis, had brought the cartridges up from 
the magazine faster than they had been used, and a row 
of them had been laid on the deck, parallel with the 
guns. One of the grenades struck the combings of the 
upper hatchway, and, glancing off, fell among the car- 
tridges. By its explosion the cartridges were ignited, 
and the flash, passing from one to another, from abreast 
the mainmast to the extreme after part of the ship, the 
whole were discharged among the crew with terrible 
effect. More than 20 men were instantly killed, and 
38 wounded. 



1 66 THE BATTLES OF AMERICA. 

This disaster, while it served to discourage the enemy, 
increased the hopes and rendered more active the ex- 
ertions of the Richard's crew. At this moment the 
Alliance, which had been hovering around the com- 
batants, came within gunshot, to the windward of the 
ships, and opened an indiscriminate fire on friend and 
foe aUke. Keeping away a Httle, she soon reached the 
larboard quarter of the RicJiard, and it is asserted by 
some that her fire was continued until she got nearly 
abeam of that vessel. For some time this singular con- 
duct was continued, and it was not until the signals of 
recognition was hoisted that the firing discontinued. 
Soon afterwards the crew of the Ricliard was alarmed 
with the report that the ship was sinking, and several 
hundred British prisoners, who had been confined be- 
low, were set at liberty by the master-at-arms. The 
confusion which was thus produced was heightened by 
a report that all the officers had been killed ; and the 
gunner, supposing himself to be the senior officer, 
hurried on deck and called for " quarter." Captain 
Pearson, of the Serapis, hearing the joyful sound, hailed 
the Richard, and inquired if she had surrendered, when 
the commodore undeceived him, and throwing his 
pistol at the gunner, severely wounded him. 

The prisoners who had been liberated were set to 
work at the pumps ; and the crew of the Richard ap- 
peared to feel, more than ever, determined to conquer. 
A few more guns were brought to bear — one of them, 
loaded with double-headed shot, directed by the com- 
modore in person, was especially directed against the 
mainmast of the Serapis — and increased exertions were 
put forth on every side. At length, at about half-past 
ten o'clock. Captain Pearson of the Serapis struck her 
colors with his own hand, none of his crew daring to 
expose themselves for that purpose. 

As soon as it was known that the Serapis had surren- 



REVOLUTIONARY BATTLES ON THE SEA. 



167 



dered, Lieutenant Richard Dale passed on board and 
took possession of the prize ; while Captain Pearson and 
his officers passed over to the Richard, and surrendered 
their swords to the commodore. In doing so Captain 
Pearson remarked, " It is with great reluctance I am 
obliged to resign my sword to a man who may be said 
to fight with a halter about his neck." Some have sup- 
posed this was intended as an insult to the commodore, 
but, if it was so, it signally failed, the latter simply reply- 
ing, " Sir, you have fought like a hero, and I make no 
doubt your Sovereign will reward you for it in the most 
ample manner." 

While this conflict was raging, the Pallas attacked 
the Coiuitcss of Scarborough, and, after a severe action 
of two hours, captured her. 

As soon as Lieutenant Dale had received a prize-crew 
on the Serapis, the lashings were cut, and the Richard 
slowly drifted away, the prize following her as soon as 
her cable could be cut. 

Thus terminated one of the most desperate struggles 
which the world ever witnessed; but a new danger now 
presented itself The Richard was both sinking and on 
fire ; and it was owing to the assistance of men sent 
from the other vessels of the squadron, that she was 
preserved long enough to secure the removal of the 
wounded and her crew. An examination showed that 
abaft, on a line with the guns of the Serapis which had 
been employed after the vessels had been lashed together, 
her timbers and siding had been entirely demolished, a 
few futtocks, which remained, being the only support 
of her poop and upper deck. Her rudder had been cut 
from her stern post; her transoms had been nearly driven 
out of her; the flames, which had got within her ceiling, 
had extended so far as to menace the magazine; and the 
pumps, by constant use, could barely keep the water at 
the same level. After securing those who were on 



1 63 THE BATTLES OF AMERICA. 

board, about nine o'clock on the morning of September 
25, the officer who had charge of her, with his crew, 
took to their boats; and, at ten o'clock, the Bon Homme 
Richard settled slowly into the sea, bows foremost, and 
disappeared. 

The Scrapis had suffered much less than the Richard, 
probably in consequence of the guns of the latter having 
been lighter and sooner silenced; yet she lost her main 
and mizzen masts and her fore top-mast, immediately 
after the ships had been separated, and was taken as a 
prize into Holland under jury-masts. 

The loss of life was also unusually severe, although 
there appears to be great uncertainty respecting its 
exact extent. It has been said by a well-informed 
writer to have amounted, on the Richard, to 165 killed, 
and 137 xvoundcd and vnssing ; while that on the Scrapis 
is supposed to have been nearly, if not quite, equal to 
that on her opponent — the same well-informed author 
stating that she lost 137 killed, and ^6 wounded. 

By this exploit Paul Jones was enabled to effect the 
release of the American prisoners in England, who were 
exchanged for the officers and seamen taken with the 
two frigates. The naval battles of this able and 
courageous sailor formed the commencement of a series 
of desperate achievements in which the United States 
gathered great renown. 



CHAPTER X. 
The War of 1812-1815. 

Immediately upon President Jefferson's inauguration 
he set to work reforming and retrenching. He reduced 
the army and navy to the most slender dimensions ; 
jealousy of a standing army being a powerful sentiment 
with the early Democrats. 

The struggle of Napoleon in Europe with the allied 
powers brought us into trouble. England had forbidden 
all trade with France, and France had in return forbidden 
all trade with England and her colonies. By these de- 
crees all of our vessels sailing on the ocean were liable 
to capture. These decrees violated our neutral rights, 
and were calculated to destroy our commerce, which by 
this time had become quite imposing. 

In 1807 Congress passed an Embargo Act, believing 
there was no other way to obtain redress from England 
and France. The promised results of this measure 
were not realized, and the law was repealed in 1809. ^^ 
created dissatisfaction, particularly in New England. 

England impressed American seamen on the plea 
that they were British subjects by birth, and could not 
free themselves from their allegiance, even though they 
made themselves citizens of another State. Measures 
of retaliation were loudly demanded. Safety was be- 
lieved to be equally concerned in resistance to these 
English claims. 

(169) 



I/O 



THE BATTLES OF AMERICA. 



Jefferson had cut down the small fleet commenced by 
Washington and Adams ; and the country now felt the 
evil effects of that mistaken economy. The few gun- 
boats that had been built proved wholly inefficient, and 
our merchant ships had nothing to shield them from 
the naval power of England on the one hand, and 
France on the other. 

Public opinion was exasperated to a pitch of fury 
when the British ship Leopard attacked the Chesapeake, 
killing some of the crew. The Chesapeake, being un- 
prepared for action, struck her flag, and was boarded by 
the British captain, who took off four of her seamen, 
whom he declared were British subjects. Rage seized 
on the people when this action became known. Some 
demanded an immediate declaration of war against 
England, Since 1 803 the British cruisers had captured 
900 American vessels, and the injury to commerce was 
so great that the nation was threatened with pecuniary 
ruin. It was with difficulty that the Government could 
even moderate the indignation of the people, and it had 
become clear that war with England was inevitable. 

On June 19, 18 12, a formal declaration of war was 
made by the United States against England, The peo- 
ple were so enthusiastically in favor of the war that the 
proclamation declaring it was in several places received 
with illuminations and rejoicings, and the cities of New 
York, Philadelphia and Baltimore, passed resolutions 
approving the action of the Government, and pledging 
themselves to support it. Jefferson's economical policy 
was now abandoned, and bills were passed to enlist 
men, organize militia, and to equip and enlarge the 
navy. When we plunged into the 1812 war, England 
had more than looo vessels, manned by more than 
144,000 sailors — the best in the world, and long accus- 
tomed to victory. We had barely 20 vessels of war 
of large size, carrying not more than 300 guns. A 



THE WAR OF 1812-1815. 



171 



number of gun-boats had recently been built, but they 
were required for defending the coast, and could not 
be counted on for service at any great distance. 

Our army was an undisciplined body, officered by 
Revolutionary soldiers, too old to be efficient, and they 
were to meet the British regulars, the finest soldiers 
then in the world, animated with the spirit of Waterloo 
and the Spanish campaigns. 

Still, upon the sea, we whipped England all around. 
Out of seventeen fights which occurred during the two 
years the war lasted, we tvon thirtecji. '* Don't give up 
the ship " was the battle-cry of the American sailor. 
On the land we did not fare so well. 

Everyone felt that England would strike her hardest; 
the terrible sufferings of the States during the Revolu- 
tionary War were not yet worn out of the popular re- 
membrance ; and it was but too likely that these would 
be repeated if the country were not prepared to encounter 
the shock of a powerful foe, strong in arms and in the 
financial means which give to arms their greatest force and 
widest application. New York and New Orleans were seen 
to be among the most vulnerable positions, especially the 
latter city ; and preparations were made for fortifying both. 

We shall here first recount the story of the land battles. 
The selection of efficient officers was not a very easy 
matter. The greater number of the Revolutionary com- 
manders had departed, and as there had been no war 
since 1783, except a few comparatively trivial encoun- 
ters with the Indians, the country suffered from a want 
of officers with a practical knowledge of their profes- 
sion. Nevertheless, sufficient old soldiers were found 
for the chief posts. The Commander-in-Chief was 
Henry Dearborn, a native of New Hampshire, who 
accompanied Arnold to Quebec in 1775, and who had 
served in the campaign which resulted in the surrender 
of Burgoyne. Thomas Pinckney was appointed Major- 



1/2 



THE BA TTLES OF AMERICA. 



General, and the principal brigadiers were James Wil- 
kinson, Wade Hampton, William Hull and Joseph 
Bloomfield — all of whom, like Dearborn, had been em- 
ployed during the War of Independence. General Hull 
was Governor of Michigan (which had been organized as 
a Territory in 1805), and, wlien war was declared, was 
marching with about 2000 troops from Ohio for the 
subjugation of the hostile Indians. To him were confided 
discretionary powers for invading Canada, and he deter- 
mined on attempting it. He crossed the border on July 
12, but events soon showed that he was not equal to 
the task. Canada was at that time divided into two 
provinces — Upper and Lower Canada; and the popula- 
tion of the former, amounting to about 100,000, con- 
sisted principally of American loyalists who had left the 
Union at the close of the late war. Each of these prov- 
inces had its own regular military force, amounting to 
about 2000 men, scattered over a wide space ; but the 
country did not present a good object of attack, because 
it was certain that the loyalists would do their utmost 
to resist invasion and avenge old wrongs. The British 
commanders at once called for volunteers, and made 
overtures to the Indians to act in alliance with them. 
A respectable force was presently in the field against 
General Hull, whose chance of success lay in pushing 
forward with the utmost expedition ; instead of which 
he came to a full pause, and awaited the action of his 
adversaries. 

While he was lying still, the British forces were 
increasing in number, and on July 17 they attacked 
Fort Mackinaw, a strong post in the Northwest, situated 
on an island near the Straits of Mackinaw, which was 
surprised and captured by an allied force of British and In- 
dians; and on August 5 a detachment of the American 
forces, sent by Hull to escort an approaching supply- 
party to camp, was defeated near Brownstown, on the 



THE WAR OF IS 12- IS 15. 



^71 



Huron River, The garrison at Maiden had now been 
reinforced by General Brock, the British Commander 
in Canada, and Hull thought it prudent to abandon the 
expedition. He re-crossed the river on August 7, and 




GENERAI, THOMAS PINCKNEY. 



retired to Detroit, followed, two days later, by Brock, 
who appeared before the town at the head of 700 English 
soldiers and 600 Indians, and demanded the instant 
surrender of the place. Hull's position was now one 



174 



THE BATTLES OF AMERICA. 



of extreme difficulty. His forces were not strong 
enough to defend so advanced a station, and, in the 
event of defeat, he was threatened with all the horrors of 
Indian vengeance. He is perhaps not to be too harshly 
blamed for giving up the town ; but he was censured 
for commencing the expedition with insufficient means, 
and then remaining inactive when his only chance of 
safety lay in the most rapid and vigorous movements. 

The fort of Detroit was held by the 4th Regiment, by 
the Ohio Volunteers, and by a part of the Michigan 
militia, placed behind the pickets in such a position that 
the whole flank of the British force was exposed to their 
fire. The remainder of the militia were stationed in the 
town, and two four-pounders, loaded with grape, were 
planted on an eminence, from which they could have 
acted with great effect on the attacking parties. A 
detachment of 400 soldiers, who were returning to 
Detroit, had by this time got sufficiently close to be 
able to attack the enemy in the rear; but Hull, dreading 
the Indian ferocity, resolved to make terms with the 
enemy. On the British columns arriving within 500 
yards of our lines, he ordered the troops to withdraw 
into the fort, and the artillery not to fire. A white flag 
was displayed, negotiations were opened with the British, 
and a capitulation agreed upon, by which, on August 
16, 18 12, the army, fort, stores, and garrison, together 
with the Territory of Michigan, were surrendered to the 
British, much to their surprise. 

Public indignation at this surrender was unbounded, 
and certainly not surprising. The army directed by 
Hull amounted to 2500 men (of whom, however, only 
800 were effectives), while Brock had under his orders 
about 330 regulars, 400 militia, and 600 Indians. Hull 
acted entirely on his own volition ; he called no council of 
his officers ; and came to his determination solely out of 
apprehension of the Indians. In 18 14 he was brought 



THE WAR OF 1812-1815. 



175 



to trial by court-martial on a charge of treason, coward- 
ice and neglect of duty. On the two latter accusations 
he was found guilty and sentenced to be shot ; but in 
consideration of his services during the Revolutionary 
war his life was spared. 

Another lamentable event occurring near the head of 
Lake Michigan contributed another element of a dis- 
heartening nature to the circumstances of this period. 
Hull had sent orders to Captain Heald to evacuate Fort 
Dearborn, on the site of the present city of Chicago — 
a position which he occupied with fifty regulars. At the 
conmiand of his superior officer he quitted that post 
and proceeded to Detroit, leaving the public property in 
charge of some friendly Indians. While moving along 
the shores of Lake Michigan, he was attacked by a 
hostile tribe of savages, and 26 of the regulars, and all 
the militia were killed, and a number of women and 
children were murdered and scalped. Those opposing 
the war prophesied all manner of evil, and for awhile 
exercised some influence over those who were inclined 
to hesitate. But the nation generally were inclined to 
carry on the war with spirit. The British army con- 
sisted of well-disciplined regulars, while we were 
obliged to create regiments on the spur of the moment, 
with all the necessary imperfection of raw levies. 

In 1808 the regular troops did not number more than 
3000. They now were fewer than 6000; the bulk of 
these had been raised since the beginning of the year. 

The ill success of the first attempt only stimulated 
the people to fresh endeavors. Immediately after the 
capitulation of Detroit, 10,000 volunteers offered their 
services, and were marched toward the territory of 
Michigan under the direction of General Harrison, who 
had command of the Army of the Northwest, including 
the detachments that had been Hull's. Their strength 
was not sufficient, considering the imperfection of their 



176 



THE BATTLES OF AMERICA. 



discipline, to effect more than a few incursions into the 
Indian lands ; and the early winter of those northern 
regions surprised them before they had obtained any 
success. 

Another expedition into Canada was undertaken by 
General Van Rensselaer, of the New York Militia, who 
commanded the Army of the Centre. His force con- 
sisted of regulars and militia, when he drew up at 
Lewistown, on the Niagara, opposite a fortified British 
post on the heights of Queenstown. Colonel Van Rens- 
selaer, a relative of the General, a man of courage and 
determination, crossed the stream on October 13, with a 
small detachment, who effected their landing under a 
heavy fire from the British. The colonel was wounded 
at the outset of the operations ; but Captains Ogilvie 
and Wool led on their troops to the assault. The for- 
tress was captured and the Americans now established 
themselves in so strong a position that when General 
Brock brought up a reinforcement of 600 men, they 
were repulsed with heavy loss, and among the killed was 
the commander himself. Here, however, the success of 
the attempt came to an end. A fresh detachment 
was conveyed over to the British side of the river ; but 
the troops refused to obey their orders, and the British, 
being again reinforced, wrested the position from their 
adversaries, after a severe engagement, in which the 
Americans were almost destroyed, and the remainder 
driven across the stream. General Van Rensselaer, dis- 
gusted with the inefficiency, and in some instances 
the cowardice, of his men, left the service, and was suc- 
ceeded by General Alexander Smyth, of Virginia. 
That officer, on November 28, embarked 4500 men, 
with a view to crossing the Niagara. The appearance 
of the enemy on the opposite shore, however, was so 
menacing that the invasion was postponed until Decem- 
ber I, when it was finally determined, by a council of 




^nA -'^ 



178 



THE BATTLES OF AMERICA. 



war, not to proceed any further with the enterprise. 
Ahnost equally unsuccessful was General Dearborn, of 
the Army of the North, who felt it expedient to retire 
after a few unimportant operations. Winter had now 
arrived — the long and terrible winter of Canada ; and 
the period for active service had passed. 

During the battle of October 13, a detachment of 
our troops, amounting to 1500, refused to cross the 
river, in aid of their comrades who were being cut to 
pieces before Queenstown Heights, on the plea that the 
war was properly only a defensive one, and that there- 
fore it was not right to invade the enemy's dominions. 
Many of the Federal party applauded them for this 
determination, and in the Northeast the feeling against 
the war gathered force with every day. Adams did not 
share in this view, believing, on the contrary, that the 
struggle had been rendered necessary by the action of 
the British Government ; but several of the New 
Englanders regarded the policy of Madison's Adminis- 
tration as unnecessary, unjust, and likely to prove 
highly injurious to the best interests of the country. 
The Governors of Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and 
Connecticut refused to allow the militia of those States 
to march to the northern frontier on the requisition of 
the President, alleging that such a requisition was 
unconstitutional. A menacing condition of opinion 
was noticeable over the whole of that quarter. The 
agitators met in convention, passed resolutions condem- 
natory of the Government, denounced the war with 
England, and proclaimed their preference for one with 
France. The body upholding these views was called 
the Essex Junto, from the locality where its members 
assembled. The difference between the North and 
South was due, not to any heresies as to the form of 
government, but to a divergence of interests on ques- 
tions of foreign policy. 



THE WAR OF 1812-1815. 



179 



The British Government had by this time declared 
the whole American coast in a state of blockade, with 
the exception of the New England States — an excep- 
tion dictated by the hope that those States might thus 
be won over to the British cause. Such an expectation 




GENERAL WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON. 

{Afterwards President of the United States.) 



l8o THE BATTLES OF AMERICA. 

was doomed to disappointment, as the general feeling 
of the country held in check whatever tendency to a 
disloyal course may have existed in particular circles. 
The reverses which have been experienced on land were 
very much more than counterbalanced by successes at 
sea ; as will presently be seen. 

So eager were we to continue the war that the 
approach of winter was not suffered to suspend the 
operations of the armies. The recovery of Michigan 
was resolved on ; companies were formed and equipped 
in a single day, and ready to march the next. Of course 
such hasty levies were not fitted for regular warfare ; 
but in the first instance were employed in driving back 
the hostile Indians on the frontiers. General Harrison, 
in conmiand of the Army of the Northwest, which was 
concentrated at the head of Lake Erie, took steps to 
reheve the frontier posts early in the autumn, and Isaac 
Shelby, a native of Maryland, but then Governor of 
Kentucky, led a strong force of youthful volunteers 
from the latter State towards the Canadian boundary 
lines. At this time, the Army of the Centre, which had 
recently been placed under Dearborn, was stationed on 
the banks of the Niagara, while that of the North, 
where Dearborn had been succeeded in the command 
by General Hampton, was planted on the borders of 
Lake Champlain. The chief officer of the English 
army, now that Brock was slain, was George Prevost. 

For assistants, he had Colonel Procter in the direc- 
tion of Detroit, and General Sheaffe in the vicinity of 
Montreal and the lower portions of Lake Champlain. 

President Madison's determination to prosecute the 
war with vigor was seconded by Congress. The bounty 
and the wages of the soldiers were increased. The 
President was authorized to raise twenty additional 
regiments of infantry, and to borrow money; and pro- 
vision was made for building four ships of the line, six 



THE WAR OF 1812-1815. 



I8l 



frigates, and as many vessels of war on the great lakes 
as the public service might require. Thus fortified, 




PRESIDENT JAMES MADISON. 



Harrison resolved on a winter campaign for the rescue 
of Michigan, and General Winchester was ordered to 



1 82 THE BATTLES OF AMERICA. 

proceed in advance to Frenchtown, a village on the 
river Raisin, 25 miles south of Detroit. With 800 
young volunteers, chiefly from Kentucky, he arrived, 
on January 10, 1813, at Maumee Rapids; and three 
days later he despatched against the British and Indians, 
concentrated at Frenchtown, a small body of troops 
under Colonels Allen and Lewis. The position was 
attacked and taken on the i8th, and Winchester arrived 
with reinforcements on the 20th. Our success, how- 
ever, was short-lived. Colonel Procter, who was at 
Maiden, eighteen miles distant, at once started for 
Frenchtown, at the head of 1 500 British and Indians. Win- 
chester's men had taken only slight precautions against 
a surprise. Early on the morning of the 22d, they 
were assailed by the enemy, and completely routed. 
Winchester, who was made prisoner by the Indians, 
offered to surrender his whole force, on condition that 
they should be protected from the violence of the 
savages. Procter replied that he would grant such pro- 
tection if the surrender took place immediately, but 
tfiat otherwise he would set fire to the village, and 
could not be responsible for the conduct of the red 
men. On our submitting, Colonel Procter, leaving the 
wounded without a guard, withdrew to Maiden, fearing 
the approach of Harrison, who was then on the Lower 
Sandusky. The Indians accompanied their British 
comrades some miles on the road, but next morning 
turned back, set fire to the houses in Frenchtown, and, 
falling on our injured forces, committed a shocking 
massacre, attended by circumstances of great atrocity. 
On reaching the Maumee Rapids, Harrison learned 
of the defeat of his countrymen at Frenchtown. Being 
under the impression that Procter would speedily attack 
him, he retreated on January 23 ; but, on Febru- 
ary I, hearing that the English had gone towards 
Maiden, he again advanced to the Rapids, with 1200 



THE WAR OF 1S12-1S15. 



183 



men, and established there a fortified camp, which he 
called Fort Meigs, after the Governor of Ohio. This 
fort was erected on the south side of the Maumee, 
nearly opposite a post which had formerly been occu- 
pied by the British, and a short distance from the present 
village of Perrysburg. The position was selected as a 
convenient point for receiving reinforcements and sup- 
plies from Ohio and Kentucky, for protecting the bor- 
ders of Lake Erie, and for facilitating the proposed 
operations for the re-capture of Detroit and the invasion 
of Canada. For some weeks Harrison remained un- 
molested at this spot, but. on April 26, Procter, with 
2000 regulars, militia, and Indians, from Maiden, ap- 
peared on the bank of the river opposite the fort, erected 
batteries on some high ground, and began a siege. The 
Indians crossed the river on the 27th, and took up a 
position in Harrison's rear, which by May 3, was 
severely galled by a battery erected on the left bank. 
Harrison was summoned to surrender, but refused, and, 
on May 5, General Clay, with 1200 Kentuckians, 
arrived to the relief of Fort Meigs, and ultimately suc- 
ceeded in driving the besiegers from their works. 
Shortly afterwards, several of the American troops, with 
the rashness of volunteers, dispersed themselves through 
the woods in pursuit of the Indians, though ordered by 
their commander not to expose themselves to so great 
a peril. In a little while they were drawn into an 
ambuscade ; the enemy rallied, and forced them to lay 
down their arms ; and the latter would probably have 
been massacred to a man, had not the Indian chief, 
Tecumseh, restrained his followers from indulging their 
vengeance. As it was, several were slain, and many 
more captured ; the remainder fled to the nearest settle- 
ments, or escaped into the fort, which was still defended 
with much obstinacy. This determination soon wearied 
out the Indians, who, on May 8, deserted the camp, 



1 84 



THE BATTLES OF AMERICA. 



notwithstanding the entreaties of their chief. The Brit- 
ish raised the siege on the following day, when General 
Harrison, leaving Clay in command, returned to Ohio 
for reinforcements. All operations in this quarter were 
now suspended, and did not recommence until a naval 
force was ready for action on Lake Erie. 

After raising the siege at Fort Meigs, nothing occurred 
in that locality until July 21, when about 4000 British 
and Indians under Procter and Tecumseh, again appeared 
before that stronghold. A week later Procter left Te- 
cumseh to watch the Fort while he marched with 500 
regulars and 800 Indians to attack Fort Stephenson, at 
Lower Sandusky. The garrison consisted of only 150 
soldiers, commanded by Major Croghan, then only 21 
years old. Although the strength of the place was not 
great, Croghan resisted the attacks of his adversary 
with much spirit. A breach in the walls was made on 
August 2, when 500 of the besiegers endeavored to 
take the position by assault. Croghan had only one 
gun, but this was so effectively worked that the assail- 
ants recoiled, and, leaving 150 killed and wounded on 
the ground, abandoned the attempt. We had only one 
man killed and seven wounded; and Procter, with his 
Indian ally, left for Detroit, despairing of success at Fort 
Meigs. This put us in better spirits and discouraged 
the Indians in their hostile designs. 

It was now resolved to fit out a squadron on Lake 
Ontario. By April 25, 1813, this was sufficiently ad- 
vanced to permit of a forward movement. At the head 
of 1700 men General Dearborn crossed the lake, and 
prepared to attack Toronto, the Capital of Upper Can- 
ada, and the principal depository of British military 
stores for the supply of the western garrisons. Dear- 
born's troops landed before Toronto on the 27th. They 
were then two miles west from the defensive works, and 
were galled by a constant fire from the British forces, 



THE WAR OF 1S12-1S15. 



185 



who were stationed some distance in advance of the 
fortifications. 

General Pike led our troops, who landed, and after a 
severe action drove back the adversary to his works. 
The rest of the forces were embarked, and the whole 
army moved up to the assault. The garrison had but 
600 men and there was little doubt of the issue. Two 




TECUMSEH. 



redoubts were captured, when the magazine of the fort 
blew up, killing General Pike. The losses on both sides 
were great, owing to the blowing up of the fort. 

Dearborn remained on board the fleet during the 
earlier part of the action, but landed soon after Pike's 
death, though he did not assume the command until 
after the surrender of the town, which was sacked. 



1 86 I^HE BATTLES OF AMERICA. 

General Sheafife escaped with the principal part of his 
troops, but lost all his baggage, books, and papers. 

The fleet now proceeded to Niagara, landed troops 
there, and returned to Sackett's Harbor. The next ob- 
ject of attack on the part of the army was Fort George, 
situated on the western shore of the river Niagara, near 
its mouth. The garrison, on May 27, fled to BurHng- 
ton Heights, at the western extremity of Lake Ontario, 
pursued by our forces under Generals Chandler and 
Winder. The detached British garrisons in that direc- 
tion being afterwards concentrated in a favorable posi- 
tion, 40 miles west of Fort George, a more vigorous re- 
sistance was opposed to our advance. Our two gener- 
als, with a corps of lOOO men, were so successfully at- 
tacked at Stony Creek that both oflicers were captured ; 
and the arrival of the British fleet, under James Yeo, 
compelled the return to the main body of the army, 
with a serious loss of artillery and baggage. Soon 
afterwards, another 800 men, who had been sent to make 
an attack on Beaver Dam, were surrounded and cap- 
tured. The British, however, were unsuccessful in an 
attack on Sackett's Harbor by a combined land and 
naval force. 

Several other small actions took place about the same 
period, and Toronto was captured and plundered a sec- 
ond time ; but, as autumn advanced, the British, who 
had been preparing a flotilla on Lake Ontario, found 
themselves in a superior position. On October 7, 
Yeo appeared with his fleet before Fort George ; Com- 
modore Chauncey went out to meet him with his squad- 
ron, and, in a gale which happened on the night of the 
8th, lost two of his schooners, with the greater part of 
their crews. An action was fought on the lOth, when 
we lost two more schooners ; but the fleets afterwards 
separated, without any decided success on either side. 
On Lake Champlain, the British destroyed Plattsburg, 



THE WAR OF 1S12-1815. 



187 



and, on the whole, the balance of advantages now 
inclined towards their side. We had for some time 
been greatly dissatisfied with General Dearborn. He 
had been a constant invalid, had never once led his 
troops in person, had sustained many heavy losses, and 
had let slip the most favorable opportunity for a descent 
on Montreal. He was accordingly relieved in June, 
and General Wilkinson was called from the South to 
take his place. This officer, like his predecessor, had 
seen service during the War of Independence, but was 
still less than sixty years of age. He arrived at 
Sackett's Harbor on August i, and the War Depart- 
ment, now under the direction of General Armstrong, 
was for a time removed to the same place. It was 
determined to attack Montreal with an army of 8000 
men, as soon as the necessary preparations could be 
completed ; but it took three months to get all things in 
readiness for so important an expedition. The delay 
gave the British authorities time to fortify every impor- 
tant point on the St. Lawrence ; so that when the 
flotilla set sail, on November 5, it was found impos- 
sible to proceed far without encountering the most seri- 
ous resistance. A body of troops, under the command 
of General Brown, was therefore set on shore, and 
these men, marching in advance of the boats, endeav- 
ored to dislodge the enemy from his posts on the 
river. At Chrystler's Fields, near Williamsburg, the 
rear division, under General Boyd, encountered a large 
British force on November 10. An obstinate engage- 
ment terminated in our favor. At a considerable loss of 
men, we succeeded in re-opening the stream for the 
passage of the flotilla. General Wilkinson arrived on 
the following day at St. Regis, where General Hampton 
was to have co-operated with him. That officer, how- 
ever, had neglected to obey his orders, alleging that the 
sickly condition of his troops, and a lack of provisions, 



1 88 THE BATTLES OF AMERICA. 

had induced him to fall back on his main depot at 
Plattsburg, in the hope of maintaining his communica- 
tions with the St. Lawrence, and thus contributing to 
the success of the expedition. He had in truth been 
foiled by a body of Canadian militia. The failure of 
Hampton to effect his junction with the Commander- 
in-Chief proved fatal to the entire enterprise. Wilkin- 
son at once retreated, and, establishing himself at 
French Mills, put his army into winter-quarters. 
Hampton was deprived of his command ; but by many 
the blame was rather imputed to General Armstrong, 
and by some to Wilkinson. The three officers found it 
impossible to agree, and their bickerings as to precedence 
had much to do with the collapse of the expedition. 

The war acquired a more ruthless character with 
time, as such wars generally do. A British squadron 
stationed in Delaware Bay captured and burned every 
merchant-vessel it encountered, and the village of 
Lewiston, in the State of Delaware, was bombarded and 
seriously injured, because the inhabitants refused to sell 
provisions to the enemy. In Chesapeake Bay, Admiral 
Cockburn plundered private houses near the shore, and 
drove away cattle for the sustenance of his men. 
Frenchtown, Havre-de-Grace, Fredericktown, George- 
town, and other places, were sacked and burned; 
Hampton was captured, after a determined resistance, 
which drew down on the unfortunate people may acts 
of barbarous vengeance ; Norfolk was attacked with 
great fury, but saved by the courage of a small force 
stationed on Craney Island, in the harbor, and much 
open country was laid waste. In retaliation Toronto 
and Newcastle, on the Canadian side of the border, 
were destroyed by fire, and many hundreds of non- 
combatants were thrown houseless on the world in the 
midst of a northern winter. Each side accused the 
other of provoking these outrages. 



THE WAR OF 1812-1815. 1 89 

Perry's signal victory on Lake Erie caused the 
utmost satisfaction throughout the Union. It was the 
first time that our vessels had obtained any advantage 
over a squadron, and the action soon produced very 
important effects on the military policy of the enemy. 
It placed Colonel Procter and his Indian allies in a 
dangerous position, and enabled us to make a move- 
ment towards the recovery of the ground which had 
been lost by the mismanagement of General Hull. The 
command of Lake Erie was secured, and a reinforce- 
ment of 4000 Kentucky volunteers under Governor 
Shelby arrived on September 17 in the neighbor- 
hood of the lake. General Harrison thereupon pro- 
ceeded by water to Maiden, now abandoned by the 
British under Procter, who, a few days before, had 
ascended the river Thames as far as the Moravian 
villages on that stream. At this spot they were over- 
taken by General Harrison on October 5, and com- 
pletely routed. Of the British, 600 were made 
prisoners, and Colonel Procter, who narrowly escaped, 
left his camp-equipage and all his papers behind him. 
The slaughter of the Indians was very great, and their 
chief Tecumseh was among the killed. He was at that 
time about forty years of age — a man of courage and 
of some intellectual power, possessing all that melan- 
choly dignity which is characteristic of the Indian race. 
Among the trophies of the victory near the Moravian 
villages were six brass field-pieces recently given up by 
General Hull, on two of which were inscribed the 
words, " Surrendered by Burgoyne at Saratoga." 
Detroit and all the other posts in that direction were 
now once more in our hands ; the war in the Northwest 
was brought to an end ; and the Indian confederacy 
was completely broken up by the subm.ission of four 
important tribes, who sent deputies to General Harri- 
son, and entered into treaties of alliance. 



190 



THE BATTLES OF AMERICA. 



It was not merely, however, on the borders of 
Canada that we had been threatened with Indian feroc- 
ity, and it was not only there that the danger was now 
extinguished. At the commencement of the war, 
Tecumseh had visited the Creeks and Seminoles on the 
frontiers of Georgia, and excited their fanaticism against 
the white inhabitants of that region. About the end of 
August, they surprised a fort in an exposed situation, 
and massacred all within, including women and chil- 
dren. General Jackson, of Tennessee, thereupon led a 
large body of militia into the wilds, to punish the 
offenders. The Indians were hunted down, brought to 
bay in a series of bloody encounters, and decimated by 
continual slaughter. Their last stand was made in a 
fortified camp at the Great Horseshoe Bend of the 
Tallapoosa River, ^n what is now the State of Alabama, 
where lOOO warriors, with their women and children, 
determined to brave the worst. They were surrounded, 
and Jackson made his assault on March 27, 18 14. 
Driven backwards and forwards by the troops in their 
front and the troops in their rear, and seeing no pos- 
sibility of escape, the savages fought with desperate 
tenacity. The battle lasted until night; but the issue 
was never doubtful. Disdaining to surrender, almost 
600 of the Indians fell dead upon the field ; 300 escaped ; 
and Jackson with a heavy loss in killed and wounded, 
remained master of the ground. This action so com- 
pletely crushed the spirit of the Creeks, and went so 
near towards annihilating them as a nation, that the 
remainder soon after signified their submission. 

At the close of 181 3, we were in a more favorable 
position than that occupied a year before. We had 
had several important triumphs at sea ; had not always 
been vanquished on land ; and the nation was fully 
determined to spare no exertion in the further prosecu- 
tion of hostilities. 



THE WAR OF 1812-1815. 



191 



As the year 18 14 progressed it became evident that 
the war would assume a much more serious character. 
The abdication of Napoleon, in April, and his banish- 
ment to Elba, put an end to the long war with revolu- 
tionary France ; and England, being now at peace on 



f^^s> 




GENERAL ANDREW JACKSON. 
[Afterwards President of the United States.) 

the Continent of Europe, was free to direct her whole 
strength against the United States. Before the occur- 
rence of these great events, the war had fallen into a 
somewhat languid condition. Towards the close of 
March, General Wilkinson entered Canada, and attacked 



192 



THE BATTLES OF AMERICA. 



a number of English troops stationed in a large stone 
mill on the river La Colle, but was soon repulsed with 
heavy loss, and, having for some time sunk much in 
popular esteem, was shortly afterwards removed from 
the chief command, to which General Izard succeeded. 
Some operations for obtaining predominance on Lake 
Ontario took place in the spring of 18 14. On May 5, 
Yeo, who was in command of a small English squad- 
ron, appeared before Oswego, with 3000 troops and 
marines. The fort on the east side of the river 
was in a very dilapidated state, and defended by no 
more than 300 men, under Colonel Mitchell, and a 
flotilla under Captain Woolsey. A large quantity of 
naval and military stores had been deposited at Oswego 
Falls, some miles off, and one object of Yeo's expedi- 
tion was to capture these, or, failing that, to destroy 
them. But although, after a resistance of nearly two 
days, the fort yielded to a combined attack by land and 
water, the British did not care to penetrate farther into 
the country, and accordingly withdrew on the morn- 
ing of the 7th, with a loss of 235 men in killed and 
wounded. Our loss was but 69. Early in July, our 
forces under General Brown crossed the Niagara River, 
and invested Fort Erie, which surrendered without 
opposition. The garrison retired to the entrenched 
camp of General Riall, situated at Chippewa, about 
two miles above the Falls of Niagara, on the Canada 
side of the river ; and here Brown determined on 
attacking his adversaries a second time. On July 4, 
he advanced against the position, and next day a 
sanguinary battle was fought in the open fields, ending 
in the defeat of the British, who fell back to Fort 
George, and subsequently to the Heights of Burlington. 
The British army had by this time been reinforced by 
veteran regiments, accustomed to frequent triumphs in 
the Spanish Peninsula and on other European fields. 



Ml 



IQ4 THE BATTLES OF AMERICA. 

wliere they had successfully encountered the best 
troops of France. We therefore found ourselves 
opposed by large and formidable hosts — by men who 
had fought and conquered under the lead of Welling- 
ton and the other heroes of that prolonged struggle. 

Soon after arriving at Burlington Heights, General 
Riall was joined by General Drummond, with a large 
number of additional troops. Our expected reinforce- 
ments were blockaded by a British fleet off Sackett's 
Harbor, and could not reach their comrades. They 
were therefore compelled to do the best they could 
with a force inferior to the enemy ; but the events of 
July 25 showed that they had not altogether miscal- 
culated their strength. The attack was commenced by 
the British under Drummond, and the battle raged for 
some hours with unabated violence. Night fell before 
the action reached its close, and a cloudy sky gave 
intermitting glimpses of moonlight, by which the 
antagonists sought out each other's positions, and 
wrestled long and bloodily for the advantage. For a 
considerable time, we were much annoyed by a British 
battery planted on a commanding eminence. " Can 
you capture those guns?" asked General Ripley of 
Colonel Miller. " I will try, sir," replied that officer ; 
and the modest words have since become the motto of 
his regiment. The attempt was gallantly made. Again 
and again Miller led his men to the assault, sometimes 
momentarily seizing the position, and then losing it. 
Cannon were brought up to support the attack, and gun 
charged gun with obstinate determination. The con- 
fusion was so great that the guns were at one time 
interchanged ; but no decided result attended the heroic 
effort. The close of the day has been variously 
described. Our historians allege that the victory was 
with us ; but it seems more probable that the balance of 
advantages laid against us. Immediately after the 



THE WAR OF 1812-1815. 



195 



battle, we retreated to Fort Erie, where we were 
besieged by the enemy. The losses on both sides were 
serious. General Riall was severely wounded and 
taken prisoner; and Generals Brown and Scott were 
compelled by their injuries to quit the field. 

On August 4, Drummond, who had also been 
wounded, appeared before Fort Erie, and commenced 
preparations for a siege. He was in command of 5000 
troops ; his works were speedily advanced to within 
four hundred yards of our lines ; and, on the night of 
August 15, the besiegers made an assault upon the 
fort, which was gallantly repulsed. On September 2, 
General Brown, who had by that time recovered from 
his wounds, threw himself into the fort, and took com- 
mand of the garrison, which, being strengthened by 
5000 men from Plattsburg, felt equal to offensive 
operations. The 17th was signalized by a sortie from 
the besieged, who endeavored to cut off the British 
advanced posts from the main body. The enemy's 
entrenchments were for a time seized and the works 
destroyed ; but, on Drummond hurrying up reinforce- 
ments, Brown was obliged to retreat; and was so much 
discouraged that, on the night of the 2ist, after having 
remained on the ground forty-nine days, he retired to 
entrenchments behind the Chippewa. General Izard 
arrived on October 9 and took the command ; but, 
considering it inexpedient to attempt any further opera- 
tions in that quarter, he demolished the works at Fort 
Erie, and removed his troops to Buffalo. Thus the 
attempt on Canada was once more abandoned. 

Plattsburg being now left almost defenceless, the 
British determined to attack it by land, and at the 
same time to attempt the destruction of our flotilla on 
Lake Champlain. At the head of 14,000 men, most of 
whom were veterans of the European wars, Prevost on 
September 6 arrived at Plattsburg. The garrison of 



196 



THE BATTLES OF AMERICA. 



the town consisted mainly of the militia of New York 
and Vermont ; hastily drawn together by General 
Macomb on the first alarm of invasion. Retiring to 
the south side of the Saranac, they prepared to dispute 
the passage of the stream. With the planks of the 
bridges, which they had torn up, they formed slight 
breastworks, and, thus aided, were able to defeat all 
endeavors to follow them. For some days the invaders 
were employed in erecting batteries, and early on the 
morning of the nth the British squadron, commanded 
by Commodore Downie, appeared off the harbor of 
Plattsburg, where that of the United States, under 
Commodore Macdonough, lay at anchor. The former 
carried ninety-five guns, with a complement of upwards 
of 1000 men ; the latter had eighty-six guns, and 820 
men. A naval battle between these forces commenced 
at nine o'clock ; and at the same time the British army 
began a heavy cannonade upon our lines, and attempted 
at different places to cross the Saranac. The opposi- 
tion to those attempts was so determined, and the loss 
of life so serious, that the British forces were unable 
to gain the other side, except at one point, where the 
ford was weakly guarded by militia. Here the assailants 
managed to get into the woods, but were severely 
handled, and compelled, after a while, to recross the 
river. At six o'clock in the evening, all the British 
batteries were silenced, and long before that time a 
great naval success had been obtained upon the lake. 
After an engagement of two hours and twenty minutes, 
the English squadron was completely defeated ; nearly 
all the ships composing it were sunk or taken ; Com- 
modore Downie was killed, and his ship was compelled 
to strike her colors, amidst the triumphant cheers of 
the Americans. So hard had been the fighting on both 
sides, that at the close of the action not a mast was 
standing uninjured in either squadron. Seeing the 



THE WAR OF 1812-1815. 1 07 

complete defeat of their vessels, the British land-com- 
manders determined to withdraw, and during the ensu- 
ing night the whole army moved off with precipitation, 
leaving behind them their sick and wounded, most of 
their camp-equipage, and their entrenching tools and 
provisions. Considering the excellent material of which 
the army was composed, and that these seasoned 
troops were beaten by a force consisting for the most 
part of militia, it occasioned great rejoicing. The princi- 
pal seat of war was now transferred to the Southern 
and Middle States. A squadron under Cochrane, having 
on board an army under General Ross, sailed up the 
Chesapeake in the month of August. An American 
flotilla, commanded by Commodore Barney, had taken 
shelter in the Patuxent, and thither Cochrane's fleet 
sailed, apparently in search of the enemy. The British 
ships were too large to proceed any great way up the 
river, and moreover Ross had plans of a very different 
nature, to which the temporary pursuit of Barney 
served as a convenient blind. The army, consisting of 
nearly 5000 men, was disembarked at St. Benedict's, 
that they might march upon the Federal capital, and 
compel its surrender. Washington was defended by a 
force which, including militia, numbered about 7000 
troops. No attempt was made to oppose the British 
advance, for Armstrong, the Secretary for War, could 
not persuade himself that the attack was seriously 
intended, and was in doubt as to the real destination of 
the British forces. The actual command was in the 
hands of General Winder, who showed great indecision 
of purpose, but at length resolved to make a stand 
against the invaders. With this view he selected a 
strong position at Bladensburg, covered by a branch of 
the Potomac. In the meanwhile, the British were 
pushing forward without the slightest opposition, and, 
by the time they had reached Marlborough, Com- 



Iq8 the battles of AMERICA. 

modore Barney thought it prudent to destroy his 
flotilla, to prevent its falling into the enemy's hands. 
Ross cared little about the flotilla. His object was 
Washington, and thither he pursued his march, arriving 
in its neighborhood on August 24. 

It was necessary in the first instance to carry the 
position at Bladensburg. Our forces numbered more 
than the British ; but the former were raw militia — the 
latter, experienced and highly-disciplined troops. The 
approach to the town was over a bridge, which was 
defended by artillery taken from Barney's flotilla and 
served by Barney's sailors. The resistance at this 
point was prolonged and courageous. For a time, the 
British were checked, and even compelled to give way ; 
but they speedily rallied, out-flanked the defenders of 
the bridge, and finally overpowered them. The com- 
mander of the gallant band, being wounded, was 
captured, and paroled for his courage by General Ross. 
The militia acted as militia generally do. They 
abandoned their positions with the utmost haste, and 
Bladensburg was presently in the hands of General 
Ross. The retreating forces were ordered to assemble 
on the heights near the capital, and at this spot were 
joined by a body of Virginian militia. But Winder 
had no reliance on his army. He considered it quite 
incapable of opposing so well-trained an enemy, and 
accordingly withdrew to Georgetown. Washington 
was at the same time abandoned by the President, the 
heads of departments, and most of the citizens, and 
was shortly afterwards entered by the victors. It was 
at eight o'clock in the evening when General Ross, 
with an advance-guard of 800 men, penetrated into 
the Federal capital. Having arrived at the seat of 
government, he offered terms of capitulation, and 
promised that, on receiving a sum of money equal to 
the value of the public and private property which the 



THE WAR OF 1812-1815. 



199 



place contained, the city should be ransomed, and the 
British troops drawn off There was no civil or mili- 
tary authority on the spot competent to enter into any 
such arrangement. Washington was doomed to the 
flames, and, in the immense conflagration which was 
kindled, the President's house, the offices of the several 
departments, a considerable number of private dwellings, 
the libraries and public archives, the works of art con- 
tained in the public buildings, the navy-yard and its 
contents, a frigate on the stocks, and several smaller 
vessels, were involved in one common doom. This 
act of shame was done under strict orders from home. 
It was intended to fill us with dread of what was to 
be expected. The British remained close to the burn- 
ing city (the light of which was seen at Baltimore, 
forty miles off") till the 25th, when they retreated. 
On the 30th they re-embarked at St. Benedict's and 
sailed for other quarters. The bombarding of forti- 
fied towns, however dreadful, is among the per- 
mitted, and even necessary, operations of warfare ; but 
the destruction of undefended cities, with the firing 
of private buildings and civic offices, is an act which 
no exigency can palliate. General Ross's proceed- 
ings at Washington produced the very natural effect of 
exciting the most vehement desire for revenge. The 
war became all the more popular on account of this 
disaster ; and some even of those who had hitherto 
refrained from giving it their full support, now resolved 
to strain every nerve for repelling the invaders of their 
country. 

Ross paid heavily for his success at Washington. 
The losses of his regiments, including deserters, and 
such as died from fatigue on the march, besides 
those who were killed or wounded in action, were 
nearly lOOO men — a very large proportion of the small 
army with which the expedition had been commenced. 



200 '^HE BATTLES OF AMERICA. 

The general, however, was speedily reinforced, and at 
once turned his attention towards other enterprises. 
He prepared to attack Baltimore, and on Septem- 
ber 12, landed with nearly 8000 troops at North Point, 
fourteen miles from the city, while a portion of the 
fleet went up the Patapsco, to bombard Fort Mc Henry. 
Ross boasted that he would make Baltimore his winter- 
quarters, and that with the force at his command he 
could march all over Maryland. Preparations had been 
hurried forward for resisting the threatened attack, and 
an action was fought some way in advance of the 
capital. At the head of a small reconnoitering party, 
Ross pushed on towards the city, but, shortly after- 
wards receiving a ball from a rifleman, died in a few 
minutes in the arms of his aide-de-camp. Colonel 
Brooke then took the command, and ultimately suc- 
ceeded in driving our forces back on the main body. The 
British bivouacked for the night on ground beyond the 
battle-field, and on the 13th recommenced their march. 
In the meanwhile. Fort McHenry* and Fort Covington, 
which defend the narrow passage from the Patapsco 
into the harbor of Baltimore, were being bombarded 
by a British squadron of sixteen ships, drawn up in 
line-of-battle within two miles and a half of the forts. 
On the night following the 13th, an attempt was made 
to storm these works ; but it was successfully resisted. 
The squadron thereupon sailed down the river, and 
Colonel Brooke considered it prudent to withdraw his 
men. Admiral Cochrane had found himself much 
incommoded by the shallowness of the harbor, and by 
, the vessels sunk at its mouth ; and his inability to carry 
out with completeness one feature of the programme, 
caused the failure of the entire design. The whole 

* During the bombardment of Fort McHenry, Francis S. Key, who 
was detained on board a British vessel, wrote the celebrated song, "The 
Star-Spangled Banner." 



THE WAR OF 1S12-1815. 2OI 

fleet soon afterwards left Chesapeake Bay, and a por- 
tion turned southward, with a view to fresh operations. 

A few weeks before — viz., on August 29 — the city 
of Alexandria, on the Potomac, had surrendered to a 
British squadron. The shipping, naval stores, and 
merchandise, were delivered up to the attacking force ; 
the vessels in the harbor were seized, and loaded with 
a large amount of produce, of which Alexandria was 
the depot ; but the town was spared from destruction. 

The coasts of New England, which had hitherto been 
treated with great tenderness, now felt the stress of 
war. Villages were bombarded and destroyed ; vessels 
moored in the rivers were burned ; and in many ways 
the inhabitants were made to feel that they were part of 
the Confederation which was the enemy of England. 
Commodore Hardy, in command of a squadron, and of 
1200 troops, took possession of Eastport, on Moose 
Island, Maine, on July 11, and, after erecting fortifi- 
cations there, required the people to take the oath of 
allegiance to the English Sovereign, or to quit the 
island. Having accomplished this object, he retired ; 
but similar conquests, if such they can be called, were 
effected in other parts of the same territory. All the 
strongholds on the Penobscot were reduced. A frigate, 
called the John Adams, was captured, though not with- 
out a gallant fight. Some Islands in Passamaquoddy 
Bay were seized. Half the province of Maine was 
obliged to capitulate ; and the Governor of Nova 
Scotia, took possession of it in the name of George III. 
The British operations extended to the coast of Mas- 
sachusetts. The people of Cape Cod were prohibited 
from fishing on the banks, and, in consequence of this 
deprivation of their chief industry, were reduced to 
great distress. The inhabitants of Nantucket were 
forced to promise neutrality during the remainder of 
the war ; and at various points in the same direction 



202 THE BATTLES OF AMERICA. 

the British naval commanders imposed their own terms 
on a people who were left without adequate protection, 
and were themselves not very well inclined towards the 
prosecution of hostilities. 

The war was in fact becoming every day more 
unpopular in the New England States. The prevalent 
feeling was a desire to isolate those States from the rest 
of the Federation, and striking advances were made in 
that direction. It was proposed in Massachusetts to 
withhold the State revenue from the national treasury, 
and to apply it to purposes of local defence. In suc- 
ceeding times this action was referred to with great 
reprobation by the Southern and Western States, as 
showing that, during the crisis of a foreign war. New 
England was disposed to separate herself from the rest 
of the Union. 

The British in the Gulf of Mexico, strongly rein- 
forced by fresh troops from England, were about to 
invade Louisiana. The authorities of New Orleans 
begged Jackson to hurry to their assistance. He lost 
no time in answering the appeal ; and by prompt and 
vigorous action, he restored confidence to the city 
authorities. He declared martial law, and weeded the 
city of the traitorously disposed. The English com- 
manders had hoped to arrive at the point of attack before 
any intelligence of their plans had reached it. Under 
ordinary conditions, New Orleans was vulnerable to a 
spirited assault ; but Jackson had time to increase its 
defences, which, in addition to the swampy nature of 
the soil where the mouths of the Mississippi empty 
themselves into the Gulf, enabled our forces to offer a 
determined and successful resistance when the foe at 
length appeared. Every man who could bear arms 
was required to take part in the military operations. 
Fort St. Philip, which guarded the passage of the Mis- 
sissippi was strengthened by new works. An exten- 



THE WAR OF 1812-1815. 



203 



sive line of fortifications was erected four miles below 
the city on the left bank of the river, from the edge of 
which it ran eastward towards an impenetrable cypress 
swamp. A ditch already existing between the river 
and the swamp was turned to military uses by throwing 
up entrenchments, and accumulating cotton-bales until 
they reached a height calculated to afford protection to 
troops in the rear. Cannon were mounted at every 
available point, and the west bank of the river was held 
by General Morgan, with a body of militia, and by 
Commodore Paterson, with the crews and guns of part 
of his squadron. The approach of the enemy towards 
the principal works was thus enfiladed. Above the 
town, the pass of the Bayou St. John was guarded by a 
detachment stationed there for that purpose ; and a 
small squadron of gun-boats was kept in readiness to 
dispute the passage of the river between Lake Pont- 
chartrain and Lake Borgne. 

On December 14 the British fleet appeared at the 
entrance to this channel, and was met by the flotilla 
of gun-boats, which commenced a spirited action. In 
the first instance, the attacking force sent forward 40 
launches, which, after some severe fighting, captured 
and destroyed our vessels. This success was obtained 
at a considerable cost in killed and wounded ; but it 
enabled the British to choose their point of attack. On 
December 22 they despatched a body of troops in flat- 
bottomed boats, which were rowed up to the extremity 
of the lake and there landed the several divisions in a 
reedy swamp, some miles from the city. Here, on the 
night of the 23d, they were attacked by General Jack- 
son. A considerable loss was inflicted on the British, 
but they were not dislodged from their position, and 
Jackson fell back towards the town. By the 28th the 
British forces had arrived within half a mile of our 
lines, from which point they opened a fire of shells and 



204 



THE BATTLES OF AMERICA. 



rockets, but were repulsed by our artillery. Jackson's 
army at that time numbered about 3000 men, consisting 
for the most part of militia. These troops were sta- 
tioned within a line of entrenchments, a mile in length, 
thrown up about four miles from New Orleans, guarded 
by a canal in front, and flanked by the batteries on the 
west or opposite bank of the river, in addition to eight 
others in the main position. The assailants continued 
to advance, and on the night of the 31st were within 300 
yards of the works. Having taken up a position, pro- 
tected by walls made out of hogsheads of sugar and 
molasses, they erected three batteries, under cover of 
which they three times endeavored to storm the en- 
trenchments, but were driven back with great loss, and 
compelled to return to the starting-place, while their 
batteries were silenced. The main assault was post- 
poned for a few days, and in the meantime Pakenham, 
by an extraordinary expenditure of labor, dug a canal 
for connecting a creek which emptied into Lake Borgne 
with the main channel of the Mississippi, in order that 
he might convey a part of his boats and artillery into 
the river, and thus silence the enemy's batteries on the 
western bank. The work was executed in an amazingly 
short space of time, and evinced great energy on the 
part of the British commander ; but it had no effect on 
the result. 

Early on the morning of January 8, 18 15, the main 
body of the British army, consisting of 8000 men, 
moved up to the assault. Within a few days previously, 
Jackson had been reinforced by 3000 militia, chiefly 
from Kentucky ; so that he had now 6000 men, with 
whom to defend his entrenchments and to work his bat- 
teries. The approach of the British was not resisted 
until they were within a convenient distance of the op- 
posing lines ; then, with a sudden flash and simultane- 
ous report, showers of grape-shot struck the advancing 



THE WAR OF 1812-1815. 



205 



ranks. Jackson had formed his troops in two rows, of 
wliich the rear-guard loaded for those in front, so that 
the fire was continued with scarcely a break. The men 
from Kentucky and the other Western States were un- 
erring marksmen, and the effect of their simultaneous 
volleys was deadly in the extreme. Still the British 
troops pushed on ; but the reedy plain was soon covered 
with the dying and the dead. Now and again those 
hardy veterans staggered and fell back, but, recovering 
themselves after awhile, pressed forward on what was 
now a hopeless enterprise. The order of battle was in 
two columns, of which the left advanced along an 
embankment skirting the river, while the right, moving 
through the swamp, endeavored to turn the left of 
Jackson's position. Pakenham's plans were in some 
measure disordered by an untoward event. The canal, 
which had been very roughly executed, had partly fallen 
in; the boats, on whose assistance he had calculated, 
were unable to come up; and the party that had been 
sent forward was insufficient in numbers, and arrived 
too late. The right of the British line became involved 
in the swamp through which it was necessary that they 
should pass: they were consequently unable to turn 
Jackson's left, and were at length compelled to retire. 
Pakenham seems to have been rendered desperate by 
his situation, and to have thought that mere courage 
could supply the defects of military science. He placed 
himself at the head of the regiment which bore the 
scaling ladders, and called upon his troops to follow. 
Some of his officers, seeing the impossibility of success, 
retired from the field ; but Pakenham had apparently 
resolved on death. Supported by a number of his men 
he rushed toward the entrenchments. Some officers 
and soldiers even got within the lines, but were at once 
shot down. Pakenham himself was mortally wounded ; 
Gibbs, the second in command, shared the same fate ; 



2o6 "^^^ BATTLES OF AMERICA. 

and Keane, the third in command, was so severely in- 
jured as to be incapable of giving orders. It was evi- 
dent that there was no choice but to retreat as speedily 
as possible. The shattered regiments reeled back at 
eight o'clock in the morning, and New Orleans was safe 
once more. Our militia desired to pursue their adver- 
saries; but Jackson knew his men, and was well 
aware that, although they could fight heroically be- 
hind defences, they were of less worth in the open 
field. The operations against New Orleans were not at 
once abandoned, for on the 9th the British fleet com- 
menced a bombardment of Fort St. Philip, which was 
continued till the 17th. This, however, was merely in- 
tended to cover the retreat of the army, which took 
place on January 16, under the direction of General 
Lambert. The loss of the British had been at least 
2000 in killed, wounded, and captured. Jackson lost 
only the incredibly small number of seven killed and 
six wounded. 

At about the same period Cockburn was sailing along 
the coasts of Carolina and Georgia, and menacing 
Charleston and Savannah with destruction. Fort Mo- 
bile was taken b}'^ the army which had retreated from 
New Orleans, and on the i6th of January an American 
frigate, the President, was captured by the English ship 
Eiidymion; but these small successes did little to 
counterbalance the great reverse before the capital 
of Louisiana. Several British ships were taken, and 
in the early days of 181 5 the position of the British in 
America was not at all favorable from a military point of 
view. 

While we were rejoicing over the victory at New 
Orleans, news arrived that terms of peace had been 
settled even before that action took place. The treaty 
had been signed on December 24, 18 14, and ratified 
by the Prince Regent on the 27th. It was received in 



2o8 "^HE BATTLES OF AMERICA. 

the United States on February ii, i8i5,and ratified on 
the 17th by the President and Senate. The treaty stipu- 
lated that all places and possessions taken during the 
war, or which might be taken after the instrument was 
signed, should be mutually restored ; that all captures 
at sea should be relinquished, if made within specified 
times ; and that each party should put a stop to Indian 
hostilities, and endeavor to extinguish the traffic in 
slaves. Provision was made for settling the boundaries 
between the United States and Canada, which had been 
left in a very uncertain condition by the treaty of 1783. 
But the main objects of the war were entirely passed 
over. The British claim to search American ships, 
and take from them seamen who were supposed to be 
British subjects — by far the most important ground of 
quarrel — was not given up. As the war between Eng- 
land and France was then concluded (though it broke out 
again shortly afterwards for a few months), it appears 
to have been thought that this delicate question might 
be passed over in silence. 

The rejoicing over the restoration of peace was uni- 
versal and enthusiastic. The country had gained im- 
mensely in naval and military reputation ; but its suffer- 
ings had been terrible. The loss of life and property, 
the disturbance of material interests, had all been on a 
very large scale. The loss of life had been estimated 
at 30,000 persons ; but these calculations are conjectured 
and thought to be greatly understated. Our progress 
had been thrown back for years by this disastrous strug- 
gle ; and the feeling of friendship between the two 
great divisions of the English race, which was begin- 
ning to recover slightly from the War of Independence, 
was again dashed to the earth by bitter and exasperating 
memories. 



CHAPTER XI. 
Sea Battles of 1812-1815. 

The exploits of the American Navy began with the 
escape of the Frigate Constitution from an English squad- 
ron. On July 12, 18 1 2, the Coiistittition, completely 
equipped and well manned, left the Chesapeake, bound 
to New York. On the i6th she saw a frigate and gave 
chase, with winds too light to reach her. On the 17th, 
she discovered the British squadron, consisting of the 
Africa, 64 guns, and Gnerriere, Shannon, Belvidera and 
Aiolus, frigates, a brig and a schooner ; the Belvidera 
within gun-shot. The 17th was calm and spent in 
towing, manoeuvering and firing. On the morning of 
the 1 8th a light breeze sprung up, when the Constitu- 
tion spread all her canvas, and by outsailing the enemy, 
escaped a conflict, which she could not have maintained 
with any hope of success, against a force so greatly 
superior. The chase was continued for 60 hours, 
during which the whole crew remained at their stations. 

A gentleman, belonging to a captured vessel, who 
was on board the Shannon, reported that all the officers 
of the British squadron applauded the conduct of Capt. 
Hull; and though mortified at losing so fine a ship, 
gave him much credit for his skill and prudence in 
managing the frigate. 

Soon after the escape of the Constitution, the U. S. 
brig Nautilus, 12 guns, commanded by Lieut. Crane, 
was captured by the squadron. Crane " did everything 
14 (209) 



2IO THE BATTLES OF AMERICA. ■ 

to prevent the capture that a skilful and experienced 
officer could do." 

Constitution and Guerriere (August 19, 1812). — 
At one p. M., on August 19, a sail was discovered, but 
at such a distance we could not tell what she was. All 
sail was instantly made in chase, and soon found we 
came up with her. At 3 p. m. could plainly see that 
she was a ship on the starboard tack under easy sail, close 
on a wind ; at half-past 3 made her out to be a frigate; con- 
tinued the chase until we were within about three miles, 
when I ordered the light sails to be taken in, the courses 
hauled up, and the ship cleared for action. At this time 
the chase had backed his main-top sail, waiting for us to 
come down. As soon as the Constitution was ready for 
action I bore down with the intention to bring him to 
close action immediately ; but on our coming within 
gun-shot she gave us a broadside and filled away, and 
wore, giving us a broadside on the other tack, but with- 
out effect, her shot falling short. She continued wear- 
ing and manoeuvering for about three-quarters of an 
hour, to get a raking position, but finding she could not, 
she bore up, and run under her top-sails and gib, with 
the wind on her quarter. I immediately made sail to 
bring the ship up with her, and five minutes before 6, 
being alongside within half pistol-shot, we commenced 
a heavy fire from all our guns, double shotted with 
round and grape, and so well directed were they, and 
so warmly kept up, that in fifteen minutes his mizzen 
mast went by the board and his main yard in the slings 
and the hull, rigging and sails very much torn to 
pieces. The fire was kept up with equal warmth for 
fifteen minutes longer, when his main-mast and foremast 
went, taking with them every spar, excepting the bow- 
sprit. On seeing this we ceased firing, so that in 
30 minutes after we got fairly alongside the enemy 




THE "constitution" AND THE "GUERRIERE." 211 



212 THE BATTLES OF AMERICA. 

she surrendered, and had not a spar standing, and her 
hull below and above water so shattered that a few 
more broadsides must have carried her down. 

After informing you that so fine a ship as the Giierriere, 
commanded by an able and experienced officer, had 
been totally dismasted, and otherwise cut to pieces so 
as to make her not worth towing into port, in the short 
space of thirty minutes, you can have no doubt of 
the gallantry and good conduct of the officers and 
ship's company. They all fought with great bravery, 
and it gives me great pleasure to say, that from the 
smallest boy in the ship to the oldest seaman, not a 
look of fear was seen. They all went into action, giving 
three cheers, and requested to be laid close alongside 
the enemy. — Isaac Hull. 

The Constitution lost seven killed and seven wounded. 
The Gucrriere lost 15 men killed and 64 wounded. 
Among the latter were Captain Dacres, and the master, 
and master's mate. The Gucrriere carried 45 guns, 
and was manned with 302 men. 

After the action the Constitution returned to Boston, 
carrying with her the intelligence of her triumph. 
At this distant day it is not easy to convey a correct 
idea of the deep impression, which the capture of this 
frigate produced both in Europe and America. The con- 
stant success with which the naval flag of Great Britain 
had been accompanied, filled tlie people of America 
with anxiety, and those of Great Britain with overbear- 
ing insolence. Captain Dacres himself had, a short 
time before, issued an insolent challenge to Commodore 
Rodgers and the President, or any other ship of her 
class, little supposing that he would so soon receive the 
punishment which he merited. The U. S. Congress 
voted its thanks and ;^50,000 dollars in lieu of prize 
money; and the heroes of the action were received with 
open arms wherever they went. 



SEA BATTLES OF 1S12-1815. 



213 



The Wasp and the Frolic (October 18, 1812).— 
The United States sloop-of-war, the Wasp, conimanded 
by Captain Jacob Jones, was cruising in the track of ves- 
sels passing from Bermuda to Hahfax, when, on Octo- 
ber 17, about eleven o'clock, in a clear moonlight 
evening, she found herself near five strange sail, steermg 
eastward. As some of them seemed to be ships of war, 
it was thought best to get farther from them. The 
Wasp, therefore, haled her wind, and having reached a 
few miles to windward, so as to escape or fight as the 
occasion might require, followed the strange sail through 
the night. At daybreak on Sunday morning, Captain 
Jones found that they were six large merchant ships, 
under convoy of a sloop-of-war, which proved to be the 
Frolic, Captain Whinyates, from Honduras to England, 
with a convoy, strongly armed and manned, having in all 
about 50 men, and two of them mounting sixteen guns 
each. He determined, however, to attack them, and as 
there was a heavy swell of the sea, and the weather bois- 
terous, got down his top-gallant yards, close-reefed the 
topsails, and prepared for action. About eleven o'clock 
the Frolic showed Spanish colors ; and the Wasp imme- 
diately displayed the American ensign and pendant. At 
half-past eleven the Wasp came down to windward, on 
her larboard side, within about sixty yards, and hailed. 
The enemy hauled down the Spanish colors, hoisted the 
British ensign, and opened a fire of cannon and mus- 
ketry. This the ^F^w/* instantly returned ; and, coming 
nearer to the enemy, the action became close, and with- 
out intermission. In four or five minutes the main top- 
mast of the Wasp was shot away, and, falling down with 
the main topsail yard across the larboard, fore and fore- 
topsail braces, rendered her head yards unmanageable 
during the rest of the action. In two or three minutes 
more her gaff and mizzen top-gallant were shot away. 
Still she continued a close and constant fire. The sea 



214 



THE BATTLES OF AMERICA. 



was so rough that the muzzles of the Wasp's guns were 
frequently in the water. We fired as the ship's side was 
going down, so that the shot went either on the ene- 
my's deck or below it, while the British fired as the 
vessel rose, and thus her balls chiefly touched the rig- 
ging or were thrown away. The Wasp now shot ahead 
of the Frolic, raked her, and then resumed her position 
on her larboard bow. Her fire was now obviously at- 
tended with such success, and that of the Frolic so 
slackened, that Captain Jones did not wish to board her, 
lest the roughness of the sea might endanger both ves- 
sels ; but, in the course of a few minutes more, every 
brace of the Wasp was shot away, and her rigging so 
much torn to pieces, that he was afraid that his masts, 
being unsupported, would go by the board, and the 
Frolic be able to escape, He thought, therefore, the 
best chance of securing her was to board, and decide 
the contest at once. With this view, he wore ship, and, 
running down upon the enemy, the vessels struck each 
other, the Wasp's side rubbing along the Frolic s bow, 
so that her jib-boom came in between the main and 
mizzen-rigging of the Wasp, directly over the heads of 
Captain Jones and Lieutenant Biddle, who were at that 
moment standing together near the capstan. The Frolic 
lay so fair for raking, that they decided not to board 
until they had given a closing broadside. While they 
were loading for this, so near were the two vessels that 
the rammers of the Wasp were pushed against the 
Frolic s sides, and two of her guns went through the bow- 
ports of the Frolic, and swept the whole length of her 
deck. At this moment. Jack Lang, a seaman of the 
Wasp, a gallant fellow, who had been once impressed 
by a British man-of-war, jumped on his gun with his 
cutlass, and was springing on board the Frolic. Jones, 
wishing to fire again before boarding, called him down ; 
but his impetuosity could not be restrained, and he was 



SEA BATTLES OF 1812-1815. 



215 



already on the bowsprit of the Frolic, when, seeing 
the ardor and enthusiasm of the Wasp's crew, Lieut. 
Biddle mounted on the hammock cloth to board. At 
this signal the crew followed ; but Lieut. Biddle's feet 
got entangled in the rigging of the enemy's bowsprit, 
and Midshipman Baker, in his ardor to get on board, 
laying hold of his coat, he fell back on the Wasp's 
deck. He sprang up, and as the next swell of the 
sea brought the Frolic nearer, he got on her bowsprit, 
where Lang and another seaman were already. He 
passed on to the forecastle, and was surprised at seeing 
not a single man alive on the Frolic s deck, except the 
seaman at the wheel and three officers. The deck was 
slippery with blood and strewn with the bodies of the 
dead. As he went forward the Captain of Frolic, 
with two other officers, who were standing on the 
quarter deck, threw down their swords, and made an 
inclination of their bodies, denoting that they had 
surrendered. At this moment the colors were still 
flying, as probably none of the seamen of the Frolic 
would dare go into the rigging for fear of the musketry 
of the Wasp. Lieut. Biddle therefore jumped into the 
rigging himself, and hauled down the British ensign, 
and possession was taken of the Frolic in forty-three 
minutes after the first fire. She was in a shocking con- 
dition ; the berth deck particularly was crowded with 
dead, and wounded, and dying ; there being but a small 
proportion of the Frolic's crew who had escaped. 
Captain Jones instantly sent on board his surgeon's 
mate, and all the blankets of the Frolic were brought 
for the comfort of the wounded. To increase this 
confusion, both the Frolic's masts soon fell, covering 
the dead and everything on deck, and she lay a com- 
plete wreck. 

The Frolic mounted sixteen 32-pound carronades, 
four i2-pounders on the main deck, and two 12-pound 



2i6 THE BATTLES OF AMERICA. 

carronades. She was, therefore, superior to the Wasp 
by exactly four 12-pounders. The number of men 
on board, as stated by the officers of the Frolic 
was 1 10 — the number of seamen on board the Wasp 
was 102 ; but it could not be ascertained whether in this 
no were included mariners and officers ; for the Wasp 
had, besides her 102 men, officers and marines; making 
the whole crew about 135. What, however, is decisive 
as to their comparative force is, that the officers of 
the Frolic acknowledged that they had as many men as 
they knew what to do with, and, in fact, the Wasp could 
have spared fifteen men. There was, therefore, on the 
most favorable view, at least an equality of men, and 
an inequality of four guns. The disparity of loss was 
much greater. The exact number of killed and 
wounded on board the Frolic could not be precisely de- 
termined ; but from the observations of our officers, 
and the declarations of those of the Frolic, the num- 
ber could not be less than about 30 killed, including 
two officers ; and of the wounded, between 40 and 50, 
the captain and second lieutenant being of the number. 
The Wasp had five men killed and five wounded. 

All hands were now employed in clearing the deck, 
burying the dead, and taking care of the wounded, 
when Captain Jones sent orders to Lieutenant Biddle 
to proceed to Charleston, or any other southern port of 
the United States ; and, as there was a suspicious sail 
to windward, the Wasp would continue her cruise. 
The ships then parted. The suspicious sail was now 
coming down very fast. At first it was supposed that 
she was one of the convoy, who had all fled during 
the engagement, and who now came for the purpose of 
attacking the prize. The guns of the Frolic were, 
therefore, loaded and the ship cleared for action; but 
the enemy, as she advanced, proved to be a seventy- 
four, the Poictiers, Captain Beresford. She fired a shot 



2i8 THE BATTLES OF AMERICA. 

over the Frolic ; passed her ; overtook the Wasp, the 
disabled state of whose rigging prevented her from es- 
caping ; and then returned to the Frolic, who could, of 
course, make no resistance. The Wasp and Frolic were 
carried as prizes into Bermuda. 

The United States and the Macedonian (October 
25, 1812). — Being in latitude 29° N. longitude, 29° 30' W., 
on October 25, we fell in with, and after an action of an 
hour and a half, captured His Majesty's ship Macedonian, 
commanded by Captain John Garden, and mounting 49 
carriage guns (the odd gun shifting). She is a frigate 
of the largest class, and reputed one of the best sailers 
in the British service. The enemy, being to windward, 
had the advantage of engaging us at his own distance, 
which was so great, that for the first half hour, we did 
not use our carronades, and at no moment was he within 
the complete effect of our musketry and grape; to this 
circumstance, and a heavy swell, which was on at the 
time, I ascribe the unusual length of the action. 

The enthusiasm of every officer, seaman and marine 
on board this ship, on discovering the enemy — their 
steady conduct in battle, and precision of their fire, 
could not be surpassed. 

We had but five killed and seven wounded. 

On board the Macedonian, there were 36 killed, and 
68 wounded. 

The Macedonian lost her mizzen mast, fore and main 
top-masts and main yard, and was much cut up in her hull. 
The damage sustained by this ship was not such as to ren- 
der her return into port necessary; and had I not deemed 
it important that we should see our prize in, should have 
continued our cruise. — Stephen Decatur. 

The Constitution and the Java (December 29, 
1812). — On December 29, 1812, at 2 p. m., when about 10 



SEA BATTLES OF IS 12-18 15. 



219 



leagues distant from the coast of Brazil, I fell in with 
and captured the British frigate yava, of 49 guns and 
upwards of 400 men, commanded by Captain Lambert. 
The action lasted one hour and 55 minutes, in which 
time the enemy was completely dismasted, not having 
a spar of any kind standing. The loss on board the 
Constitution, was nine killed and 25 wounded. The 
enemy had 60 killed and loi wounded (among the 
latter Captain Lambert, mortally). 

The ^ava had, in addition to her own crew, upwards 
of 100 officers and seamen to join the British ships of 
war in the East Indies; also General Hislop, appointed 
to the command of Bombay; and Captain Marshall, 
master and commander in the British navy, going to the 
East Indies to take command of a sloop-of-war there. 

The great distance from our own coast and the perfect 
wreck we made of the enemy's frigate, forbade every idea 
of attempting to take her to the United States; I had 
therefore no alternative but burning her, which I did 
after receiving all the prisoners and their baggage, which 
was very hard work, only having one boat left out of 
eight, and not one left on board the Java. 

On blowing up the frigate Java, I proceeded to this 
place, where I have landed all the prisoners on their 
parole to return to England, and there remain until 
regularly exchanged, and not to serve in their pro- 
fessional capacities in anyplace, or in any manner what- 
soever against the United States of America, until their 
exchange shall be effected. — W. Bainbridge. 

The Hornet and the Peacock (February 24, 1813), 
— After Commodore Bainbridge left the coast of Brazil, 
(Jan. 6), I continued off" the harbor of St. Salvador, 
blockading the Bonne Citoycnne, until the 24th, when 
the Montague, 74, hove in sight, and chased me into the 
harbor; but night coming on, I wore and stood out to 



220 



THE BATTLES OF AMERICA. 



the southward. Knowing that she had left Rio Janeiro 
for the express purpose of reHeving the Bonne Citoyenne 
and the packet (which I had also blockaded for 14 
days), I judged it prudent to shift my cruising-ground, 
and hauled by the wind to the eastward, with the view 
of cruising off Pernambuco, and on February 4 cap- 
tured the English brig Resolution, of lO guns, from Rio 
Janeiro, with coffee, jerked beef, flour, fustic, and butter, 
and about 23,000 dollars in specie. As she sailed dull 
and I could not spare hands to man her, I took out the 
money and set her on fire. I ran down the coast, and 
cruised there a short time: from thence ran off Surinam. 
After cruising off that coast from the 15th to the 22d 
of February without meeting a vessel, I stood for 
Demerara, with an intention, should I be fortunate on 
that station, to run through the West Indies, on my 
way to the United States. But, on the 24th in the 
morning, I discovered a brig to the leeward, to which I 
gave chase; ran into quarter less four, and not having a 
pilot, was obliged to haul off, the fort at the entrance of 
Demerara River at this time bearing S. W., distant about 
two and a half leagues. Previous to giving up the 
chase, I discovered a vessel at anchor without the bar, 
with English colors flying, apparently a brig-of-war. 
In beating round, in order to get at her, at half-past 3, 
discovered another sail on our weather quarter, edging 
down for us. At 20 minutes past 4, she hoisted 
English colors, at which time we discovered her to be 
a large man-of-war brig — beat to quarters, cleared ship 
for action, and kept close by the wind, in order, if possi- 
ble, to get the weather gage. At 10 minutes past 5, 
finding I could weather the enemy, I hoisted American 
colors and tacked. At 25 minutes past 5, in passing 
each other, exchanged broadsides within half pistol- 
shot. Observing the enemy in the act of wearing, I 
bore up, received his starboard broadside, ran him close 




WILLIAM BAINBRIDGE. 



222 THE BATTLES OF AMERICA. 

on board the starboard quarter, and kept up such a 
heavy and well-directed fire, that in less than 15 minutes 
he surrendered, being literally cut to pieces, and hoisted 
his ensign, union down, from his fore-rigging, as a signal 
of distress. Shortly after, his mainmast went by the 
board. Despatched Lieutenant Shubrick on board, who 
reported her to be His Majesty's brig Peacock, com- 
manded by Captain William Peake, who fell in the latter 
part of the action ; that a number of her crew were 
killed and wounded, and that she was sinking fast, 
having then six feet of water in her hold. Despatched 
the boats immediately for the wounded, and brought 
both vessels to anchor. Such shot-holes as could be 
got at were then plugged up : her guns thrown over- 
board, and every possible exertion used to keep her 
afloat until the prisoners could be removed, by pumping 
and bailing, but without effect, as she unfortunately 
sunk in 5^/^ fathoms of water, carrying down 13 of her 
crew, and three of my brave fellows. Four men, of the 
13 mentioned, were so fortunate as to gain the foretop, 
and were afterwards taken off by the boats. Previous 
to her going down, four of her men took the stern 
boat, that had been much damaged during the action, 
who, I sincerely hope, reached the shore in safety. I 
have not been able to ascertain from her officers the 
exact number killed. Captain Peake and four men were 
found dead on board. The master, and one midship- 
man, carpenter and captain's clerk, and 29 seamen were 
wounded; most of them severely, three of them died of 
their wounds after being removed, and nine drowned. 
Our loss was trifling in comparison. John Place, 
killed; Samuel Coulson, and John Delyrumple, severely 
wounded ; George Coffin and Lewis Todd, severely burnt 
by the explosion of a cartridge. Our rigging and sails 
are much cut. One shot through the foremast; and 
the bowsprit slightly injured. Our hull received little 



SEA BATTLES OF 1S12-1S15. 22^ 

or no damage. At the time I brought the Peacock to 
action, the L Espieglc (the brig mentioned as being at 
anchor) mounting sixteen 32-pound carronades and two 
long nines, lay about six miles in shore of me, and 
could plainly see the whole of the action. Apprehen- 
sive that she would beat out to the assistance of her 
consort, such exertions were made by my officers and 
crew repairing damages, &c., that by nine o'clock my 
boats were stowed away, new set of sails bent, and the 
ship completely ready for action. At 2 A. m. got under 
way and stood by the wind to the northward and west- 
ward, under easy sail. 

On mustering next morning, found we had 277 souls 
on board, including the crew of the American brig 
Himtcr, of Portland, taken a few days since by the 
Peacock. As we had been on two-thirds allowance of 
provisions for some time, and had but 3400 gallons of 
water on board, I reduced the allowance to three pints 
a man, and determined to make the best of my way to 
the United States. 

The Peacock was deservedly styled one of the finest 
vessels of her class in the British Navy. I should 
judge her to be about the tonnage of the Hornet. She 
mounted sixteen 24-pound carronades, two long nines, 
one 12-pound carronade on her top-gallant forecastle, as 
a shifting gun, and one 4 or 6 pounder, and two swivels 
mounted aft. I find that her crew consisted of 134 men, 
four of whom were absent in a prize. 

The cool and determined conduct of my officers and 
crew during the action, and their almost unexampled 
exertions afterwards, entitle them to my warmest ac- 
knowledgments. — James Lawrence. 

The Chesapeake and the Shannon (June i, 1813). 
— In consequence of Captain Lawrence's gallant victory 
over the Peacock he was promoted to the command of 



224 



THE BATTLES OF AMERICA. 



the frigate Chesapeake, then lying in the Boston harbor. 
The British frigate SJiannon, commanded by Captain 
Brooke, had been cruising before that port for several 
weeks, and Brooke sent a challenge to Lawrence to 
meet him ship to ship, and thus determine the relative 
value of the two vessels, Brooke was a gallant and 
careful officer. He had long paid great attention to 
the discipline and exercise of his crew, and felt he 
could depend on them. In Captain Lawrence and the 
Chesapeake he had a skilful and daring opponent. 
The Chesapeake was a little superior in size to the 
Shanno)i, and had a larger complement of men ; but the 
crew were not well trained. 

On June i, the two vessels met, and instantly engaged. 
About 15 minutes before 6 p. m. the action commenced 
within pistol-shot. The first broadside did great execu- 
tion on both sides, damaged our rigging, killed among 
others Mr. White, the sailing-master, and wounded 
Captain Lawrence. In about 12 minutes after the com- 
mencement of the action we fell on board of the 
enemy, and immediately after, one of our arm-chests on 
the quarter deck was blown up by a hand-grenade, 
thrown from the enemy's ship. In a few minutes one 
of the captain's aids came on the gun deck to inform 
me that the boarders were called. I immediately called 
the boarders away, and proceeded to the spar deck, 
where I found that the enemy had succeeded in 
boarding us, and had gained possession of our quarter 
deck. I immediately gave orders to haul on board the 
foretack, for the purpose of shooting the ship clear of 
the other, and made an attempt to regain the quarter 
deck, but was wounded, and thrown down on the gun 
deck. I again made an effort to collect the boarders, 
but in the meantime the enemy had gained complete 
possession of the ship. On my being carried down to the 
cockpit, I there found Captain Lawrence and Lieutenant 



SEA BATTLES OF 1S12-1S15. 



225 



Ludlow both mortally wounded ; the former had been 
carried below previously to the ship's being boarded ; 
the latter was wounded in attempting to repel the 
boarders. — Lieut. George Budd. 

In the brief space of time during which the battle had 
raged the Chesapeake had 48 killed, and 98 wounded; 
the SJiannon, 23 killed and 56 wounded, Lawrence 
was twice wounded early in the action, and when carried 
below was asked if the colors should be struck. He 
replied, " No ; they shall wave while I live." He after- 
wards became delirious with mental and bodily suffer- 
ing, and whenever able to speak during the remaining 
four days of his life, would exclaim, ''Don't give up the 
ship/" But the ship was already in the hands of the 
enemy. The bodies of Lawrence and Ludlow were car- 
ried to Halifax and there buried with the honors of war. 
Some of the oldest captains of the British Navy carried 
the pall of Lawrence, and it was universally felt that 
he was worthy of every honor that could be paid to his 
memory. The corpse was shrouded in a mahogany 
coffin, and was received at the King's wharf by a regi- 
ment of troops and a full band of music. When vic- 
torious over the Peacock he had behaved with so much 
kindness to the officers and crew, that the former, on ar- 
riving at New York, sent him a letter of thanks. Al- 
though his mortal remains were now deposited in 
alien earth, the spirit which he embodied went forth as 
an animating influence through the whole mass of his 
countrymen, and his dying words, " Don't give up the 
ship! " have become classical, as they deserve to be, in 
the American Navy. 

The people were very disheartened at this unexpected 
calamity. The honors and rewards bestowed on Cap- 
tain Brooke showed that it was considered a very great 
matter to vanquish a frigate of the United States. 
IS 



226 ^-^^ BATTLES OF AMERICA. 

Shortly after the fate of the Chesapeake and her brave 
defenders was known in the United States, B. W. Crow- 
ninshield sohcited the government for permission to sail 
with a flag of truce to Halifax, for the purpose of ob- 
taining the entombed bodies of Captain Lawrence and 
Lieutenant Ludlow; the permission being granted, Mr. 
Crowninshield sailed in a vessel manned by himself and 
ten other masters of vessels, and on application to the 
British admiral, commanding on that station, obtained 
the object of his request. On their arrival at Salem, 
Massachusetts, the funeral obsequies of the brave de- 
ceased were again celebrated in the most solemn and 
impressive manner. 

The Report of the Naval Committee said : 

The court are of opinion that the Chesapeake was 
gallantly carried into action by her late brave com- 
mander; and no doubt rests with the court from com- 
parison of the injury respectively sustained by the 
frigates, that the fire of the Chesapeake was much supe- 
rior to that of the SJiaJuion. The Shannon being much 
cut in her spars and rigging, and receiving many shot 
in and below the water line, was reduced almost to a 
sinking condition, after only a few minutes' cannon- 
ading from the Chesapeake; while the CJiesapeake was 
comparatively uninjured. And the court have no 
doubt, if the Chesapeake had not accidentally fallen on 
board the Sliannon, and the Shannon's anchor got foul 
in the after quarter port of the CJiesapeake, the Sliannon 
must have very soon surrendered or sunk. 

It appears to the court, that as the ships were getting 
foul, Captain Lawrence ordered the boarders to be 
called ; but the bugle man, stationed to call the board- 
ers by sounding a bugle, had deserted his quarters, and 
when discovered and ordered to call, was unable, from 
fright, to sound his horn ; that midshipmen went below 
immediately to pass the word for the boarders ; but not 



,ii'f nun/fj 
'JU'/'ii 




228 THE BATTLES OF AMERICA. 

being called in the way they had usually exercised, few 
came upon the upper deck ; confusion prevailed ; a 
greater part of the men deserted their quarters, and ran 
below. It appears also to the court, that when the 
Shannon got foul of the Chesapeake, Captain Lawrence, 
Lieutenant Ludlow, the sailing master, and lieutenant 
of marines were all killed or mortally wounded, and 
thereby the upper deck of the Chesapeake was left with- 
out any commanding officer, and with only one or two 
young midshipmen. It also appears to the court, that 
previously to the ships getting foul, many of the Chesa- 
peake's spar deck division had been killed and wounded, 
and the number stationed on that deck thereby con- 
siderably reduced ; that these being left without a com- 
missioned officer, or even a warrant officer, except one 
or two inexperienced midshipmen, and not being sup- 
ported by the boarders from the gun deck, almost 
universally deserted their quarters. And the enemy, 
availing himself of this defenceless state of the Chesa- 
peake's upper deck, boarded and obtained possession of 
the ship with very little opposition. 

The Argus and the Pelican (August 14, 181 3). — 
Circumstances prevented my attention to the painful 
duty which devolved on me by the death of iny gallant 
commander, Captain William H. Allen, late of the U. S. 
brig Argns. After capturing 23 vessels of various sizes, 
and some of great value, on August 14, 181 3, we dis- 
covered at 4 o'clock A. M. a large brig-of-war standing 
down under a press of sail upon our weather quarter, 
the wind being at south, and the Argns close hauled 
on the starboard tack: we prepared to receive her; 
and at half-past four, being unable to get the weather 
gage, we shortened sail, and gave her an opportunity of 
closing. At 6, the brig having displayed English colors, 
we hoisted our flag ; wore round, and gave her the lar- 



SEA BATTLES OF 1812-1815. 



229 



board broadside (being at this time within grape dis- 
tance), which was returned, and the action commenced 
within the range of musketry. Shortly after six, Cap- 
tain Allen was wounded, and the enemy shot away our 
main braces, main spring-stay, gaff, and trysail-mast. 
Allen, being much exhausted by the loss of blood, was 
taken below. At 6.12 lost our spritsail-yard and the 
principal part of the standing rigging on the larboard 
side of the foremast. At this time I received a wound 
on the head from a grape shot, and was carried below. 

Lieutenant Allen, who succeeded to the command, 
reports, at 6. 14 the enemy, being in our weather quarter, 
edged off, for the purpose of getting under our stern, but 
the Argus luffed close to, with the main topsail aback, 
and giving him a raking broadside, frustrated his at- 
tempt. The enemy shot away our preventer, main- 
braces and main-topsail-tye ; and the Argus, having lost 
the use of her after sails, fell on before the wind, when 
the enemy succeeded in passing our stern, and ranged 
on the starboard side. At 6.25 the wheel ropes and 
running rigging of every description being shot away, 
the Argus became unmanageable; and the enemy, not 
having sustained any apparent damage, had it com- 
pletely in his power to choose a position, and con- 
tinued to play upon our starboard quarter, occasion- 
ally shifting his situation, until 6.30 when I returned 
to the deck, the enemy being under our stern, within 
pistol shot, where she continued to rake us until 6.38, 
when we prepared to board, but, in consequence of 
our shattered condition, were unable to effect it; the 
enemy then passed our broadside, and took a position 
on our starboard bow. From this time until 6.47 we 
were exposed to a cross or raking fire, without being 
able to oppose but little more than musketry to the 
broadside of the enemy, our guns being much disabled 
and seldom brought to bear. 



230 THE BATTLES OF AMERICA. 

The Argus suffered much, in hull and rigging, as also 
in killed and wounded ; and being exposed to a galling 
fire, which from the enemy's ability to manage his vessel 
we could not avoid, I deemed it necessary to surrender, 
and was taken possession of by the British sloop Pelican, 
of 2 1 carriage guns, viz., sixteen 32-pound carronades, 
four long 6's, and one 12-pound carronade. I hope this 
measure will meet your approbation, and that the result 
of this action, when the superior size and metal of our 
opponent, and the fatigue which the crew, &c., of the 
Argus underwent from a very rapid succession of cap- 
tures, is considered, will not be thought unworthy of 
the flag under which we serve. 

Lieut. W. H. Watson, 
LaU of the U. S. In ig Argus. 

The Argus lost 10 men, beside the captain, and had 
II wounded. 

The Enterprise and the Boxer (September 5, 
1813). — On the 5th, in the bay near Penguin Point, dis- 
covered a brig getting under way, which appeared to be 
a vessel of war, and to which we immediately gave chase. 
She fired several guns, and stood for us, having four 
ensigns hoisted. After reconnoitering and discovering 
her force, and the nation to which she belonged, we 
hauled upon a wind, to stand out of the bay, and at 
3 o'clock shortened sail, tacked to run down, with an 
intention to bring her to close action. A 3.20, when 
within half pistol-shot, the firing commenced from both, 
and after being warmly kept up, and with some manoeu- 
vering, the enemy hailed, and said they had surrendered, 
about 4 p. M. ; their colors being nailed to the masts, cojild 
not be hauled down. She proved to be the British brig 
Boxer, of 14 guns, Samuel Blythe, commander, who fell 
in the early part of the engagement from a cannon-shot 
through the body. Lieutenant Burrows, who had gal- 



SEA BATTLES OF 1812-1815. 



231 



lantly led us into action, fell also about the same time 
by a musket-ball. 

The Enterprise suffered much in spars and rigging, 
and the Boxer received so much damage in her hull, 
masts, and sails, that it was with difficulty she could be 
kept afloat to get her in. 

There were between 20 and 35 killed, and 14 wounded 
on the Boxer. Our loss was 4 killed, and 1 3 wounded. 
Edward R. A. Call, Senior Officer. 

The Battle of Lake Erie (September 10, 18 13). 

Commodore Perry to the Secretary of the U. S. Navy : 

U. S. Brig Niagara, off the Western Sister, 

Lake Erie, Sept. 10, 181 3. 

Sir: It has pleased the Almighty to give to the arms 
of the United States a signal victory over their enemies 
on this lake. The British squadron, consisting of two 
ships, two brigs, one schooner, and one sloop, have this 
moment surrendered to the force under my command, 
after a sharp conflict. 

I have the honor to be, sir, very respectfully. 

Your obedient servant, 
Hon. William Jones, O. H. Perry. 

Secy of the Navy. 

Commodore Perry to Major-General Harrison : 

U. S. Brig Niagara, off the Western Sister, 

Lake Erie, Sept. 10, 1813. 
Dear General, 

We have met the enemy ; and they are ours ! two 
ships, two brigs, one schooner, and one sloop. 

Yours with great respect and esteem. 
Gen. Harrison. O. H. Perry. 



232 



THE BATTLES OF AMERICA. 



On the morning of the loth instant, at sunrise, the 
enemy's fleet were discovered from Put-in-Bay, where I 
lay at anchor with the squadron under my command. 
We got under way, the wind hght and stood for them. 
At lo A. M. the wind hauled to S. E. and brought us to 
windward: formed the line and bore up. At quarter be- 
fore 12, the enemy commenced firing ; at five minutes be- 
fore 1 2, the action commenced on our part. Finding their 
fire very destructive, owing to their long guns, and its 
being mostly directed at the Laivrencc, I made sail and 
directed the other vessels to follow for the purpose of 
closing with the enemy. Every brace and bow-line 
being shot away, she became unmanageable, notwith- 
standing the great exertions of the sailing master. In 
this situation she sustained the action upwards of two 
hours within cannister distance, until every gun was 
rendered useless, and the greater part of her crew 
either killed or wounded. Finding she could no longer 
annoy the enemy, I left her in charge of Lieutenant 
Yarnall, who I was convinced, from the bravery already 
displayed by him, would do what would comport with 
the honor of the flag. At half-past two, the wind 
springing up, Captain Elliott was enabled to bring his 
vessel, the Niagara, gallantly into close action : I im- 
mediately went on board of her, when he anticipated 
my wish by volunteering to bring the schooners which 
had been kept astern by the lightness of the wind, into 
close action. It was with unspeakable pain, that I saw, 
soon after I got on board the Niagara, the flag of the 
Laivrence come down, although I was perfectly sensible 
that she had been defended to the last, and that to have 
continued to make a show of resistance would have 
been a wanton sacrifice of the remains of her brave 
crew. But the enemy was not able to take possession 
of her, and circumstances soon permitted her flag again 
to be hoisted. 




COMMODORE OLIVER HAZARD PERRY. 



233 



234 



THE BATTLES OF AMERICA. 



At 45 minutes past two, the signal was made for 
" close action." The A^zVr^^^r^ being very little injured, 
I determined to pass through the enemy's line, bore up 
and passed ahead of their two ships and a brig, giving 
a raking fire to them from the starboard guns, and to 
a large schooner and sloop from the larboard side at 
half pistol-shot distance. The smaller vessels at this 
time having got within grape and cannister distance, 
under the direction of Captain Elliott, and keeping up 
a well-directed fire, the two ships, a brig and a schooner, 
surrendered, a schooner and sloop making a vain at- 
tempt to escape. 

Our loss in killed was 27, and we had 96 wounded. 
Their loss was not accurately ascertained, but it must 
have been very great. The exact number of the enemy's 
force has not been ascertained, but I have good reason 
to believe that it exceeded ours by nearly 100 men. 

O. H. Perry. 

The victory of Commodore Perry was the result of 
skill, courage, and enterprise, against superior force. 
Both the quality and amount of the force he had to 
contend with, ought to have given a triumph to the 
other side ; and at the time of the surrender, the odds 
were increased against him, since his own ship, after 
having suffered more than perhaps a vessel of the same 
size and force ever did before, had been compelled to 
strike. The immediate termination of the battle ap- 
pears to have been decided by the bold Nelsonian meas- 
ure of breaking through the British line and coming 
to close action. 

A naval officer at Lake Erie thus writes : 
" In no action fought this war has the conduct of the 
commanding officer been so conspicuous or so evident- 
ly decisive of the fate of the battle, as in this. When 
he discovered that nothing further could be done in the 



236 



THE BATTLES OF AMERICA. 



Laivrence, he wisely removed to the Niagara, and by 
one of the boldest and most judicious manoeuvres ever 
practised, decided the contest at once. Had the Niag- 
ara shared the fate of the Lawrence, it was his intention 
to have removed to the next best vessel, and so on as 
long as one of his squadron continued to float. The 
enemy saw him put off, and acknowledge that they fired 
a broadside at him. With his usual gallantry he went 
off standing up in the stern of the boat ; but the crew 
insisted on his sitting down. The enemy speak with 
admiration of the manner in which the Laivre7ice bore 
down upon them. She continued her course so long 
and so obstinately, that they thought we were going to 
board them. They had a great advantage in having 
long guns. Many of our men were killed on the berth 
deck and in the steerage, after they were taken below 
to be dressed. One shot went through the light room, 
and knocked the snuff of the candle into the magazine 
— the gunner happened to see it immediately, and ex- 
tinguished it with his hand : 2 shot passed through 
the magazine ; 2 through the cabin ; 3 or 4 came into 
the ward room — but I believe only one went quite 
through, and that passed a few inches over the surgeon's 
head as he sat in the cockpit. Our short guns lodged 
their shot in the bulwarks of the Detroit, where a 
number now remain. Her bulwarks, however, were 
vastly superior to ours, being of oak and very thick. 
Many of their grape-shot came through ours. They 
acknowledge that they threw combustible matter on 
board of us, which set our sails and rigging on fire in 
several places. I'm clearly of opinion that they were 
better manned than we were. They had a much greater 
number — they had veteran troops — their men were all 
well. We had as motley a crew as ever went into 
action; and our vessels looked like hospital ships. 
" During the whole of the action the most complete 



238 



THE BATTLES OF AMERICA. 



order prevailed on board the Lawrence. There was no 
noise, no bustle, no confusion. As fast as the men were 
wounded they were taken below and replaced by others. 
The dead remained where they fell until the action was 
over. Captain Perry exhibited that cool, collected, 
dignified bravery, which those acquainted with him 
would have expected. His countenance all the time 
was just as composed as if he had been engaged in 
ordinary duty. As soon as the action was over he gave 
all his attention to the securing of the prisoners and to 
the wounded on both sides. Captain Barclay declared 
to one of our officers, several days after the action, that 
Perry had done himself immortal honor by his human- 
ity and attention to the wounded prisoners. The action 
was fought on Friday — we got into harbor next day. 
On Sunday all the officers on both sides, who fell, were 
buried on South Bass Island, at Put-in-Bay, with the 
honors of war." 

As the intelligence of this victory was carried through 
the country, the most extravagant expressions of de- 
light were everywhere displayed ; and Commander 
Perry was hailed as the saviour of the Northwest. 
Salutes and illuminations, and public meetings gave 
evidence of the popular sentiment ; and it is said " the 
general joy was unequalled since the surrender of 
Cornwallis at Yorktown." 

But not alone from its effects on the affairs of the 
nation was this action memorable. Says Irving: 
"Were anything wanting to perpetuate the fame of this 
victory, it would be sufficiently memorable from the 
scene where it was fought. The war had been distin- 
guished by new and peculiar characteristics. Naval 
warfare had been carried into the interior of a con- 
tinent ; and navies, as if by magic, launched from 
among the depths of the forest. The bosoms of peace- 
ful lakes which, but a short time before, were scarcely 



SEA BA TTLES OF 1812-1S15. 



239 



navigable by man, except to be skimmed by the light 
canoe of the savage, had all at once been ploughed by 
hostile ships. The vast silence, that had reigned for 
ages on those mighty waters, was broken by the thunder 
of artillery; and the affrighted savage stared with 
amazement from his covert at the sudden apparition of 
a sea-fight amid the solitudes of the wilderness." 

The Loss of the Essex (March 28, 18 14). — One of 
the most remarkable cruises on record is that of the 
frigate Essex, commanded by Captain David Porter. 
Intended as a consort of the Constitution and Hornet, 
under the general conmiand of Commodore Bainbridge, 
she sailed from the Delaware on October 28, 18 1 2, and 
ran to Port Praya [St. jfago), the appointed place of 
rendezvous. But in consequence of her heavy supply 
of stores, and her consequent dull sailing, she did not 
reach the rendezvous until after the conmiodore had left. 

Thus thrown upon his own resources. Captain Porter 
determined to turn Cape Horn and cruise in the Pacific 
Ocean, where a heavy British commerce was almost 
wholly unprotected ; and from which, it was hoped, 
the most desirable success might be obtained. On 
her progress thither the most provoking want of suc- 
cess was experienced, but between March 5, 18 13, when 
she anchored off the Island of Mocha, and the time of 
her capture, fortune favored her crew; and one of the 
most successful, if not the most romantic, cruises on 
record fell to her lot. 

The enemy's letters of marque, which had been sent 
out to harass the American whalers, were checked and 
overpowered; the enemy's commerce was completely 
cut up and destroyed ; the single ship which entered the 
Pacific, without a consort, and but poorly supplied with 
many of the necessaries for a cruise, by manning her 
prizes and by levying on the enemy's commerce, had 



240 



THE BATTLES OF AMERICA. 



become the flag-ship of a victorious squadron, whose 
progress from port to port, and from harbor to harbor, 
was only a series of triumphs ; whose adventures assumed 
a character kindred to those of the marvelous navi- 
gators of earlier and darker days; whose exploits spread 
terror wherever it found the British flag, and even along 
the wharves, in the counting-rooms, and around the 
firesides of Britain herself 

Captain Porter thus reported: 

" I had completely broken up the British navigation 
in the Pacific (he had captured 12 vessels containing 
107 guns and manned with 302 men) ; the vessels which 
had not been captured by me were laid up, and dared 
not venture out. I had afforded the most ample pro- 
tection to our own vessels, which were, on my arrival, 
very numerous and unprotected. The valuable whale 
fishery there is entirely destroyed, and the actual in- 
jury we have done them may be estimated at two 
and a half millions of dollars, independent of the ex- 
penses of the vessels in search of me. They have fur- 
nished me amply with sails, cordage, cables, anchors, 
provisions, medicines, and stores of every description; 
and the slop-shops on board them have furnished cloth- 
ing for the seamen. We have in fact lived on the enemy 
since I have been in that sea, every prize having proved 
a well-found store-ship for me. I had not yet been 
under the necessity of drawing bills on the depart- 
ment for any object, and had been enabled to make 
considerable advances to my officers and crew on ac- 
count of pay." 

After having thoroughly overhauled and refitted the 
Essex, at the Marquesas, on December 12, 18 13, in 
company with one of her prizes which had been armed 
with twenty guns, and called the Essex, Junior, the 
Essex sailed from Madison Island ; and on February 
3, 1 8 14, she anchored in the bay of Valparaiso. Four 



SEA BATTLES OF IS 12-18 15. 24 1 

days afterwards, two British vessels of war — the frigate 
Phoebe, Captain Hillyer, of thirty-six guns, and the 
sloop-of-war Cherub, Captain Tucker, of twenty-eight 
guns — also entered the bay; and the former ranged up 
alongside the Essex, between that vessel and the Essex, 
Junior. 

During the succeeding 43 days the four vessels were 
in the bay, restrained by the neutrality of the port. 

Having grown weary of the blockade, and under- 
standing that the enemy's force would be increased at 
an early day, Porter determined to leave port, and 
rely on the speed of his vessels and his skill in sail- 
ing them as the means of escape. Accordingly, on 
March 28, with a fresh breeze from the southward, the 
Essex stood out to sea; but before she cleared the 
harbor a squall struck her, carrying away her main- 
top-mast, after which, failing in her attempt to regain 
the common anchorage, she ran into a small bay on 
the east side of the harbor, about three-quarters of a 
mile from the battery, and cast anchor, within pistol- 
shot from the shore, with the intention of repairing 
her damage at that place. 

In the meantime the Pliccbe and Cherub had pursued 
the Essex; and when the latter, disabled, anchored 
within the limits of the harbor, and under the protec- 
tion of its neutrality, it was properly supposed the 
enemy, also, would respect the rights which Porter had, 
previously, recognized in him. The approach of the 
two vessels, decked with their battle-flags, jacks, pen- 
nants, and ensigns, speedily dispelled that illusion, how- 
ever ; and the crippled Ayi'^;ir, separated from her ''jfuuior'' 
which had been left in the harbor, was warned, there- 
from, of the hostility of his intentions, and prepared for 
his reception. At fifty-four minutes past three in the 
afternoon, the PJiixbe — having come within range of her 
long guns while yet the carronades of the Essex were 
16 



242 ^^-^ ^^ TTLES OF AMERICA. 

Still useless — opened a fire on the siern of the latter, 
at long-shot distance; while, at the same time, the 
Chcritb, on her starboard bow, also opened an effective 
fire. The bow-guns of the Essex, however, soon ren- 
dered the situation of the latter vessel an uncomfortable 
one; and she bore up and ran under the stern of the 
Essex, joining with the Phccbe in a hot, raking fire. 
Having run three long twelves out from the stern-ports 
of the Essex, her crew was enabled to return the com- 
pliments of the combined enemy; and, with so much 
skill and effect was it done, that, within half an hour 
from the opening of the engagement, both vessels were 
compelled to haul off and repair damages. 

During this brief engagement the Essex and her crew 
suffered considerably, and her ensign at the gaff and 
the battle-flag at her mizzen-masthead had been shot 
away; but when, " a few minutes " afterwards, the enemy 
returned to the contest, the motto flag, " Free trade 
AND sailors' rights," at her main-masthead, sent forth 
the defiance which the crew on her decks so gallantly 
ratified a few minutes afterwards. 

Having repaired his damages, the enemy returned to 
the action ; and both his vessels, having taken their 
position on the starboard-quarter of the Essex, out of 
the reach of her carronades, and where her stern-guns 
could not be brought to bear, they opened a destructive 
fire on the devoted, and comparatively helpless, vessel. 
Under these circumstances, Porter was compelled to 
choose between a tame surrender, and running down 
and becoming the assailant. His topsail-sheets and 
halyards, as well as his jib and foretop-mast-staysail- 
halyards, having been shot away, leaving only his flying- 
jib-halyards, he hoisted the latter sail, cut his cable, and 
ran down on both ships, with an intention of laying the 
Phcebe on board. During the time which this manoeuvre 
occupied, the fire, on both sides, was very severe — that 



SEA BATTLES OF 1812-1S15. 



243 



of the Essex with the hope of disabhng her opponent 
and preventing her escape ; that of the enemy to disable, 
still more, his opponent, and prevent her progress in 
the desperate mission on which she had ventured. 

The CJienib, distrusting her abilities for a successful 
defence at close action, hauled off, and performed her 
part of the drama at a distance, with her long guns 
only. The PJiccbe, also, preferring to fight at a distance, 
edged off as the Essex neared her; and, with character- 
istic prudence, selected that position which best suited 
her long guns, continuing her fire with terrible effect, 
while that of the Essex was, from her position and her 
helplessness, of but little use. At that time, the running 
rigging of the Essex was almost wholly shot away; 
and, as her sails could not be handled, she was almost 
entirely unmanageable. Many of her guns had been 
rendered useless by the enemy's shot, and many of them 
had their entire crews destroyed — some of them had, 
indeed, been reman ned twice, and one of them three 
times. 

Perceiving that the enemy had it in his power to 
choose his distance, and to keep off rather than to come 
to close action. Porter determined to run the Essex on 
shore, land his crew, and set fire to his ship. The wind 
favored the design, and everything appeared to favor it, 
until the ship had moved to within musket-shot of the 
shore, when the wind suddenly shifted, and blowing 
from the shore, the head of the Essex instantly payed 
down on the Pliccbe, and exposed the decks of the de- 
voted ship to another severe, raiding fire — an advantage 
which was not lost sight of by the enemy. 

The fire on the Essex continued with unabated fury, 
although the unmanageable ship was unable to bring a 
single gun to bear on the enemy. In this dilemma 
Porter ordered a hawser to be bent to the sheet-anchor, 
and the anchor to be cut down from the bows; when 



244 ^-^^ BATTLES OF AMERICA. 

her head was brought round, and the broadside again 
bore on the enemy. Soon afterwards the hawser parted, 
and the ship took fire; when, by Porter's directions, 
some of the crew attempted to swim ashore, while those 
who remained turned their attention to a suppression 
of the flames, in which, after a severe struggle, they 
were finally successful. 

By this time the crew had become so weary, and so 
many had fallen, that further resistance was considered 
not only useless, but criminal; "the painful order was 
given to strike the colors," and the action terminated. 

At this time the situation of the ship and her crew 
was truly lamentable. In the words of her commander, 
" the cock-pit, the steerage, the ward-room, and the 
berth-deck could contain no more wounded ; the latter 
were killed while the surgeons were dressing them ; and 
it was evident that unless something was speedily done 
to prevent it, the ship would soon sink from the number 
of shot-holes in her bottom. The carpenter reported 
that his crew had been killed or wounded ; and that he 
had been once over the side to stop the leaks, when his 
slings had been shot away, and it was with difficulty he 
was saved from drowning." There were, therefore, no 
hopes of saving the ship, or of preventing her from 
falling into the enemy's hands, and a further sacrifice of 
life would have been unjustifiable. 

The strength of the Essex in this engagement was 
forty 32-pound carronades and six long-twelves, with 
a crew of 255 men; that of the enemy was 30 long- 
eighteens and sixteen 32-pound carronades, with a 
howitzer and six three-pounders in her tops, on the 
PJuvbc ; and eighteen 32-pound and eight 24-pound car- 
ronades and two long-nines on the Cherub — the former 
having a crew of 320, and the latter one of 180 men 
and boys. The peculiarity of the movements, how- 
ever, were such that, with but a slight exception, the 



SEA BATTLES OF 1812-1815. 



245 



ships fought at long gun-shot distance ; and the fight- 
ing strength therefore was thirty long eighteen-pounders 
and two long-nines, on the part of the enemy, against 
six long-twelves on the Essex — a disparity which will 
explain at a glance the disastrous termination of the 
engagement. The loss of the enemy from the same 
cause was much less than that of the Essex — the PJicebe 
losing four killed and seven wounded ; the C/ienib, one 
killed and three wounded ; and the Essex, fifty-eight 
killed, sixty-six zvomided, and thirt}'-one missing. 
Porter thus wrote to the Secretary of the Navy : 
"To possess the Essex it has cost the British Govern- 
ment nearly six millions of dollars ; and yet, sir, her cap- 
ture was owing entirely to accident ; and if we consider 
the expedition with which naval contests are now de- 
cided, the action is a dishonor to them. Had they 
brought their ships boldly to action with a force so very 
superior, and having the choice of position, they should 
either have captured or destroyed us in one-fourth the 
time they were about it." 

The Essex had landed all her specie, amounting to 
two millions of dollars, at Valparaiso previous to her 
being captured. 

Loss OF THE President (January 16, 181 5). — On 
January 14, 18 15, the President, under command of Cap- 
tain Stephen Decatur, dropped down to Sandy Hook, 
New York harbor; and during the night she attempted 
to cross the bar and put to sea. From some unex- 
plained cause the pilots missed the channel, and ran the 
ship on one of the shoals which obstruct the entrance 
of the harbor; and she was detained five hours by that 
unexpected misfortune. As a squadron of the enemy's 
ships had been blockading the harbor several weeks, 
and had been blown off by a gale which had prevailed 
on the previous day, the opportunity to run the frigate 



246 THE BATTLES OF AMERICA. 

out had been embraced by Decatur, and this mishap 
was peculiarly unfortunate, resulting, as it probably did, 
in the loss to the country of the fine ship which he com- 
manded. 

At five the next morning, while steering southeast by 
east, three strange sail were made, within gun-shot of 
the President, and directly ahead ; when she was hauled 
up, and passed to the northward of them, two miles dis- 
tant. At daylight, however, four ships were seen in 
chase — two of them astern, and one on each quarter — 
the leading ship being about three miles distant. As 
the President was deeply laden with stores for a long 
cruise, Decatur ordered all hands to lighten the ship ; 
and for that purpose water-casks were started, anchors 
were cut away, provisions, cables, spare spars, boats, and 
every article that could be got at were thrown over- 
board, and the sails were kept wet, from the royals down. 
The wind was light and baffling; and the Pre side Jif s 
pursuers, lightly laden, and favored with stronger 
breezes, gained rapidly on her — the nearest, at three 
o'clock in the afternoon, opening her fire from her bow- 
guns ; and, at five, obtaining a position on her starboard- 
quarter, within half-point-blank-shot distance, on which 
neither her stern or quarter guns could be brought to 
bear. 

After occupying this position half an hour — the 
enemy's fire, meanwhile, having become quite trouble- 
some, as every shot carried away some of the President's 
i''gg'"g — and after endeavoring to prevail on the stranger 
to range alongside, which was declined, Decatur deter- 
mined to exchange shots with her, if possible ; and his 
crew cheerfully received the information, and joined in 
the measures adopted for its execution. With this 
object, at half-past five o'clock, while it was yet light, 
the President's helm was put up, and the course of 
the ship laid to the southward, with the intention 




CAPTAIN STEPHEN DECATUR. 



247 



248 



THE BATTLES OF AMERICA. 



of closing with her opponent. The stranger, how- 
ever, appeared to understand Decatur's purpose, and 
she too, at the same time, kept off — the ships soon after- 
wards coming abeam of each other, and each dehvering 
her broadside. During the succeeding two hours 
and a half the two ships appear to have run off dead 
before the wind, about a quarter of a mile apart ; and 
every attempt to close, which was made by the Presi- 
dent, was frustrated by the simultaneous sheering off of 
the stranger. The action, therefore, was altogether 
with heavy guns ; and the efforts of both appear to have 
been mainly directed against the spars and rigging of 
her opponent, until eight o'clock, when the stranger 
having been dismantled — " her sails being cut from her 
yards " — she dropped astern, and the President pursued 
her former course, repairing her damages, and seeking 
to shake off the three strangers, which, with a brig, which 
had also joined in the pursuit, still continued the chase, 
and were also rapidly gaining on her. 

The chase continued in this order until eleven o'clock, 
when the four fresh vessels had come within gun-shot 
of the President — one of them (the Pontone) opening her 
fire on her larboard bow, within musket-shot distance ; 
another (the Tenedos), within two cables' length of her 
quarter; and the remainder (the Majestic znd the De- 
spatch) within gun-shot astern. Thus surrounded by a 
force greatly superior to his own, with his ship badly 
crippled, and one-fifth of her crew killed or wounded, 
and with no chance to escape from his fresh pursuers, 
Decatur considered it his duty to surrender, and he 
hoisted a light as an indication of that purpose. 

The force of the President was thirty-two long 24- 
pounders, one 24-pound howitzer, twenty 42-pound 
carronades, and five small pieces in her tops; the 
Endyniion — with which the conflict opened — was rated 
a/ortjy-gun ship, but mounted twenty-six long 24-pound, 



SEA BATTLES OF 1S12-1815. 



249 



twenty-two 32-pound, and one 12-pound carronade, and 

one long-eighteen ; while the Majestic, razee, rated 
56 guns, the Tenedos rated 38 guns, the Ponionc rated 
38 guns, and of the Dcspatcli the real strength is not 
known. The loss of the President was 24 killed and 
i^6 zuo7inded ; that of the EndyniioJivjdi.s 11 killed dind 14 
ivounded. 

Capture of the Cyane and Levant (February 20, 
181 5). — On December 17, 18 14, the frigate Constitution, 
commanded by Captain Charles Stewart, sailed from 
Boston on a cruise ; and, after looking into Bermuda, 
she ran over to Madeira and the Bay of Biscay, making 
two prizes on her way, one of which was destroyed, the 
other sent in. 

At one o'clock in the afternoon of the 20th, a strange 
sail was made on the larboard-bow, when the Constitu- 
tion hauled up two or three points, and made sail in 
chase. Three-quarters of an hour afterwards a second 
sail was made, ahead, and both were soon ascertained 
to be ships, standing close hauled, with their starboard- 
tacks on board. 

The strangers were not long in ascertaining the char- 
acter of the Constitution, although her strength was not 
at first discovered ; and at four o'clock the weathermost 
.ship made signals to her consort, and bore up for her — 
the Constitution, meanwhile, bearing up after her, setting 
all her canvas, and carrying away her mainroyal-mast 
in the chase. At five she opened her fire with her lar- 
board bow-guns, but without effect ; and perceiving that 
a junction of the two strangers could not be prevented, 
at half-past five she cleared for action, being then four 
miles astern of them. A series of manoeuvres by the 
consorts, for the purpose of gaining the position, occu- 
pied their attention until near six o'clock, and they then 
shortened sail, and at half-cable-length distance from 



250 



THE BATTLES OF AMERICA. 



each other, and awaited the approach of the Consti- 
tution. 

At five minutes past six the frigate ranged up on the 
starboard side of the sternmost ship, about 300 yards 
distant, and opened her fire by broadsides, both her 
opponents answering her with spirit and effect. During 
a quarter of an hour the cannonade continued, when the 
fire of the consorts slackened ; and the frigate also held 
her fire to allow the smoke to clear away, and that the 
position of her opponents might be ascertained. Imme- 
diately afterwards the Co7istitution found that she was 
abreast the headmost ship, while her consort was luffing 
up for the frigate's larboard-quarter ; when the latter 
gave the former a broadside, and braced aback her 
main mizzen-topsails, backing astern, under cover of the 
smoke, abreast of the latter, and continued the action. 
During the succeeding quarter of an hour the cannonade 
continued, when the enemy's fire again slackened, and 
the headmost ship was seen, through the smoke, bearing 
up, with the intention of crossing the frigate's fore-foot ; 
when the Constitution filled her topsails, shot ahead, and 
gave her two raking broadsides over the stern. It was 
then discovered that the sternmost ship was also wear- 
ing, when Captain Stewart immediately wore ship after 
her, and gave her a raking broadside ; while she luffed, 
too, on the frigate's starboard broadside, and threw in 
her larboard broadside with great spirit and determi- 
nation. On receiving this fire the Constitution ranged 
up on the stranger's larboard-quarter, within hail, and 
was about to give her starboard fire, when the latter fired 
a gun to leeward, and, at a quarter before seven, she 
surrendered. She was found to be the British frigate 
Cyane, Captain Falcon, mounting thirty-six guns, with 
a crew of 180 men. 

About an hour afterwards the Constitution filled away 
after the ship which had been driven out of the action, 



i 



SEA BATTLES OF 1812-1815. 



251 



but was still visible through the dim moonlight which 
relieved the darkness of the night. At half-past eight 
the two ships met — the stranger gallantly coming up to 
meet the frigate, with her starboard-tacks close hauled, 
her topgallant-sails set, and her colors flying. Ten 
minutes later the Constitution ranged close alongside to 
windward of her, on an opposite tack; and the two ships 
exchanged broadsides. The frigate having thrown in 
her fire, immediately wore under the stranger's stern, 
and raked her ; when she made sail and endeavored to 
escape. The frigate immediately made sail in chase ; 
and at half-past nine she opened a fire on the fugitive 
from her starboard bow-guns, which cut her spars and 
rigging very severely. At ten o'clock, finding she could 
not escape, the stranger fired a gun to leeward, and 
she, too, surrendered, proving to be the sloop-of-war 
Leva7ttf mounting twenty-one guns, with a crew of 156 
men. 

The armament of the Constitution at this time was 
fifty-two guns, and her loss during the action was three 
killed ?Lnd twelve wo?/ ndcd ; the enemy's loss was, on the 
Cyane, 12 killed dind 26 zvounded ; and on the Levant 
23 killed 2ind 16 wounded. 

Capture of the Penguin (March 23, 181 5). — The cap- 
ture of the President, already referred to, being unknown 
to the commanders of the other vessels composing the 
squadron, they followed her to sea on January 22, 181 5 ; 
and made the best of their way to the Island of 
Tristan d'Cunha, the place of rendezvous appointed 
by Captain Decatur. The Peacock and Tom Botvline 
reached that place about the middle of March ; and on 
the morning of the 23d the Hornet also arrived at the 
same place. She had not cast anchor, however, when 
the men aloft discovered a sail to windward, standing 
westward; when Captain Biddle immediately sheeted 



252 



THE BATTLES OF AMERICA. 



home his topsails again, and making a stretch to wind' 
ward, made chase. Soon afterwards the stranger was 
seen running down before the wind ; and, as her char- 
acter was apparent, the Hornet hove to and waited for 
her to come down. 

At forty minutes past one in the afternoon, the 
stranger having come within musket-shot, she set Eng- 
lish colors and fired a gun ; when the Hornet luffed up, 
displayed her colors, and answered with a broadside. 
During the succeeding fifteen minutes the fire of both 
vessels was warm and effective, the enemy meanwhile 
gradually drifting nearer to tiie Hornet ; and soon after- 
wards she put her helm hard up, and ran down on the 
starboard broadside of the Hornet, to lay her aboard ; 
and she succeeded in passing her bowsprit through the 
starboard-quarter of the latter. At that instant the 
stranger's foremast and bowsprit went by the board, the 
former falling directly on her larboard guns ; and her 
crew, probably in consequence of this mishap, made no 
attempt whatever to take advantage of her situation, but 
allowed the vessels to separate. An attempt was made 
to bring the brig around, in order to use her starboard 
battery, but in this also the crew was unsuccessful, and 
the Hornet succeeded in raking her. Perceiving that 
any further resistance was useless, the enemy hailed the 
Hornet and surrendered. 

The prize proved to be the British brig Penguin, Cap- 
tain Dickinson, mounting nineteen guns, besides guns in 
her tops ; and she was manned with a crew of 132 hands. 
The loss of the Hornet was one man killed, and Captain 
Biddle, Lieutenant Conner, and eight men xvonndeci ; 
that of the Penguin was Captain Dickinson, her boat- 
swain, and 12 men killed, the second lieutenant, two 
midshipmen, purser, and 24 men wounded. The former 
suffered little injury, except in her sails and rigging; the 
latter was completely riddled, her foremast and bowsprit 



SEA BATTLES OF 1S12-1S15. 



253 



were carried away, and her mainmast was so much in- 
jured that it could not be secured. 

It has been said of this — the last " battle " of the war 
with Britain — that " it was one of the most creditable to 
the character of the American marine that occurred in 
the course of the war. The vessels were very fairly 
matched, and when it is remembered that an English 
flag-officer had sent the Penguin on the special service 
against a ship believed to be materially heavier than the 
vessel she actually encountered, it is fair to presume 
she was thought to be, in every respect, an efficient 
cruiser." 

The privateers which sailed from our ports were ex- 
ceedingly active and successful. They were mainly clip- 
pers, and very fast sailors ; and were engaged in many 
desperate encounters. Their engagements were so 
numerous that our limits will not allow us to enter 
into any specific details. Within four months after the 
declaration of war 26 fast sailing vessels, bearing 18 long- 
guns, 194 pieces of artillery, and 2233 men, sailed from 
NewYork ; while 17 from Baltimore, carrying 22 long- 
toms, and 127 guns, nobly seconded the enterprise and 
gallantry of their neighbors; and all, alike, vindicated 
the freedom of the seas and the rights of man. 

Lossing enumerates that "56 British vessels of war were 
captured on the lakes and on the ocean, mounting 886 
guns, and 2360 merchant vessels, mounting 8000 guns. 
In addition to this 29 British ships-of-war, mounting 
800 guns, were lost on the American coast by wreck, 
or otherwise; and that the Americans lost only 25 
vessels of war, and a much less number of merchant 
ships than the British." 

The Americans had abundant cause to be elated, and 
the British to be mortified. The young Republic were 
naturally proud of their achievements. 



CHAPTER XII. 

The Mexican War (1845 -1848). 

Texas was originally a portion of the Mexican Em- 
pire. It lies to the north-east of the other parts of 
Mexico, and is a solid block of territory, 700 miles 
in length from north to south, and 800 miles broad, 
where the land is at its widest. Its area has been 
estimated as nearly equal to the united areas of Great 
Britain and France. So fertile is its soil that it will pro- 
duce everything which will grow in the temperate zone, 
with many things which require a semi-tropical country 
for their due development. The agricultural capabilities 
of the country are magnificent, while beneath the sur- 
face are mines of metal and of coal, quarries of stone, 
and abundance of those minerals which add to the 
wealth of States. Such a territory had many attrac- 
tions, and more than one European nation desired to 
obtain possession of it. After the fall of Montezuma, 
in 1 521, it was nominally a part of the Spanish realm, 
but being remote from the Mexican capital, was not 
peopled by the conquerors. The French, who claimed 
priority of discovery, formed a settlement at Matagorda, 
but were expelled by the Spaniards in the latter part 
of the 17th century. After the rising of the Mexicans 
against the dominion of Spain, Texas became a province 
of the Mexican Republic. Our citizens coveted that 
northern part of Mexico, and began by degrees to spread 
themselves over it. 
(254) 



THE MEXICAN WAR. 



255 



Texas was in the first instance claimed by the Ameri- 
can Government as a part of Louisiana, but the claim 
was in 18 19 abandoned in favor of Mexico. Neverthe- 
less, in 1821 and the following year, a colony from the 
United States made a settlement on both sides of the River 
Colorado, in what was then Mexican territory, and 
the local government, not foreseeing that such a move- 
ment was likely to prove their own ruin, encouraged 
emigration. Numbers flowed into the province, and 
10,000 Americans were domiciled there in 1833. They 
disliked Mexican rule, with its alternations of imbecility 
and military dictatorship ; and desired to establish a 
separate government, and ultimately to transfer Texas 
to the Union ; and secret preparations were made for a 
revolt. The leader of these movements was General 
Sam Houston, a man who had already served in Con- 
gress, and been Governor of the State of Tennessee, 
and who as early as 1830 mentioned at Washington 
that he had in his mind a grand project for wresting 
Texas from Mexico and setting her up as an indepen- 
dent republic. This secret was revealed to President 
Jackson, who was obliged to express an official dis- 
approval of the plan, but who applauded it in his heart. 
Jackson always desired to see an extension of the 
country in that direction, although he had assented to 
the treaty of 18 19, which relinquished Texas in con- 
sideration of gaining Florida. 

When the time came for carrying the Houston plot 
into execution, no real hindrance was put in the way 
of the adventurers by the Jackson Administration. 
Hostilities broke out in 1835. Every nerve was strained 
by the Mexican Government to suppress the rising; 
but it spread with alarming rapidity, and several battles 
ensued, some of which were obstinate and sanguinary. 

On March 2, 1836, a convention declared Texas inde- 
pendent ; and Santa Anna, the President of the Mexi- 



256 



THE BATTLES OF AMERICA. 



can Republic, underwent a crushing defeat at San 
Jacinto on April 21, on which occasion the Americans 
were commanded by General Houston. The province 
remained for some years a perfectly independent re- 
public, ruled by a dominant class of Americans, but 
not officially connected with the United States, any 
more than with Mexico itself. General Houston be- 
came the first President of the Republic, and was re- 
elected for a second term. 

In time, however, it was felt desirable that this de- 
tached republic should connect itself with the great 
Confederation to which a large part of its population 
was now allied. The question began to be agitated, 
and the propriety of admitting Texas into the Union 
was much discussed in the years 1843 and 1844. The 
Mexican Government anticipated all discussion on the 
question, announcing its determination to meet any 
resolution for the annexation of Texas by a declaration 
of war. 

President Tyler's allusion to the Texan question, in 
his Message to Congress at the close of 1843, ^^^ the 
first official intimation of the coming war with Mexico. 
The declared resolve of the Mexican Government to 
make the contemplated annexation a casus belli stimu- 
lated in a yet higher degree the determination of the 
Government to get possession of Texas at the earliest 
opportunity. An attempt to secure this end was made 
during 1844, but was defeated by the Senate. The de- 
mand for Texas grew louder and louder, and the Presi- 
dent showed every inclination to gratify it, as far as the 
limitations on his power enabled him. 

On March i, 1845, Congress resolved in favor of 
receiving Texas into the Union as a State, and President 
Tyler gave his assent the same day. The resolution 
was considered by a convention of delegates called 
for the purpose of forming a State constitution for 



i 



THE MEXICAN WAR. 



257 



Texas, and was approved by that body on July 4. Thus, 
this province of the far south-west became one of 




GENERAL SAMUEL HOUSTON. 



the States of the Union ; the largest State in point of 
size. Houston was immediately elected to the U. S. 
17 



258 



THE BATTLES OF AMERICA. 



Senate, and continued a member of that body until 
1859, when he was elected Governor of Texas. 

The independence of Texas having been acknowl- 
edged, not only by the United States, but by England, 
France, and some other countries, the right of its citi- 
zens to effect any change they pleased in their condition 
was necessarily implied, in the estimation of the Govern- 
ments making that acknowledgment. But this could 
not bind Mexico, She resolved on fighting, and on 
June 4, 1845, the Mexican President issued a proclama- 
tion, declaring the rights of his country, and his deter- 
mination to defend them by a resort to arms, if that 
should prove necessary. Our declaration of war was 
dated May 13, and the Mexican declaration was issued 
on May 23, 1845. 

President Polk was beforehand with his adversary in 
taking military measures. In July, 1845, he ordered 
General Zachary Taylor, then in command of troops in 
the south-west, to proceed to Texas, and occupy a 
position as near the Rio Grande as might appear 
prudent. The force was about 1500 strong, and its 
commander had acquired great distinction by his gal- 
lant conduct against the refractory Seminole Indians. 
By November, he had an army of rather more than 
4000 men. A camp was formed, but the general re- 
mained inactive during the following autumn and the 
early part of the winter. 

On January 13, 1846, the Secretary of War ordered 
Taylor to advance from Corpus Christi to a spot near 
the outfall of the Rio Grande, opposite the Spanish city 
of Matamoras, where a number of Mexican troops were 
gathering, with the design of invading Texas. Here 
he established a fortified camp opposite Matamoras, 
and commenced the erection of a fort large enough for 
2000 men, to which the name of Fort Brown was given. 

When Taylor advanced to the Rio Grande, the town 



THE MEXICAN WAR. 



259 



and fortress of Matamoras were strongly garrisoned by- 
Mexican troops, and his position soon proved rather 
serious. Taylor's supplies were cut off; a reconnoiter- 




PRESIDENT JOHN TYLER. 



ing party was partly killed and partly captured, on 
April 24, on the Texas side of the Rio Grande ; and 
the whole army was surrounded by a superior force of 
Mexicans. The little force stationed there was in 



26o ThE BATTLES OF AMERICA. 

danger of being overpowered, and Taylor set out, on 
May I, with iioo men for the rehef of the position. 
This he accomplished after a good deal of hard fighting, 
and, on being reinforced by 23,000 men, left on his 
return to the camp before Matamoras. On their way 
our troops saw in front of them a Mexican force, 6000 
strong, drawn up in battle-array, on a prairie flanked by 
ponds of water and trees, at a spot called Palo Alto, 
not far from the Rio Grande. A contest of five hours' 
duration ensued on May 8, and in the end the Mexi- 
cans gave way and fled. Next day a still more decisive 
engagement took place at Resaca de la Palma, three 
miles from Matamoras, when we were again tri- 
umphant, and General La Vega was captured, together 
with 100 men, eight pieces of cannon, three standards 
and a quantity of military stores. The Mexican Com- 
mander-in-Chief, Arista, saved himself by flight across 
the Rio Grande, and the invading army on the north-east 
bank of that stream was completely shattered. Dur- 
ing Taylor's absence Fort Brown had been besieged 
by the Mexicans. On the morning of May 3, a battery 
at Matamoras, on the other side of the river, opened a 
heavy fire on the fort, while a large body of troops 
crossed to attack the position. The garrison, though 
few in number, made a spirited defence, and succeeded 
in silencing the Mexican battery ; but soon after the 
attacking forces established themselves in the rear, and 
began to plant cannon. Taylor had left directions to 
fire heavy signal guns, if the necessity arose; and on 
May 6 the signal was given. He arrived in time to 
relieve Fort Brown, and to save the detachment sta- 
tioned there. 

After the resumption of hostilities on November 13, 
Worth marched towards Saltillo, the capital of Coahuila, 
of which he took possession on the 15th. Taylor, leav- 
ing a garrison at Monterey, proceeded towards Victoria, 



THE MEXICAN WAR. 



261 



the capital of Taniaulipas, but returned on learning that 
Tampico, a town on the coast, which he had designed 
to attack, had surrendered on the 14th to Commodore 




GENERAL ZACHARY TAYLOR. 

[Affetivar'c/s Presi<fent of tlu- United States.) 

Connor. That officer had intended to bombard the 
city; but when the smaller vessels from his squadron 
were seen approaching, a deputation from the citizens 
offered to surrender the place, on condition that their 



262 THE BATTLES OF AMERICA. 

laws, institutions and property were respected. We 
had established a strict blockade of the Mexican coast. 
Vera Cruz and St. Juan d'Ulloa were closely watched 
by cruisers, and the Mexicans had no naval power where- 
with to oppose us. One of Taylor's reasons for return- 
ing to Monterey was because of a report that Santa 
Anna was collecting a large force at San Luis Potosi, 
which might possibly endanger his base of operations. 
When the divisions of Worth and Wool had effected a 
junction near Saltillo on December 20, the danger was 
at an end, and, nine days later. General Taylor occupied 
Victoria. At an earlier date. General Kearney, who 
had command of the Army of the West, marched nearly 
1000 miles across the wilderness known as the Great 
Plains, and among the mountain ranges by which it is 
bordered, and, taking possession of Santa Fe, the capital 
of New Mexico, on August 18, reduced the whole prov- 
ince to subjection, without the necessity of any further 
operations. The governor and 4000 troops fled at the 
approach of Kearney, who thereupon constituted a new 
Government, and made preparations for further exploits. 
Kearney departed from Santa Fe on September 25, 
1846, at the head of 400 dragoons, for the Californian 
settlements of Mexico bordering on the Pacific Ocean; 
but, learning on his route that California was already in 
our possession, he sent back 300 of his men, and with 
the remaining hundred continued his expedition towards 
the west. Arriving at Los Angeles, in California, on 
December 27, he found a singular state of affairs. Cali- 
fornia had for some years been little more than nomi- 
nally under the dominion of Mexico. Several Ameri- 
cans settled in the country shortly after the revolt 
against Spain ; and an insurrection, mainly incited by 
them, broke out in 1836, and resulted in so complete a 
subversion of Mexican authority that the central govern- 
ment was compelled to allow the Californians to choose 




GENERAL JOHN C. FREMONT. 



^Afterwards an unsuccessful candidate for the Presidency.') 



263 



264 



THE BATTLES OF AMERICA. 



their own rulers. A state of anarchy ensued, and the 
prevailing influence was that of the Americans. In the 
spring of 1846, John C. Fremont, while engaged in ex- 
plorations at the head of sixty men, had been threatened 
with attack by De Castro, the Mexican Governor on 
the Californian coast, who shortly afterwards began to 
prepare an expedition against the settlers near San 
Francisco. Fremont, losing no time, roused the menaced 
colony, captured a Mexican post and garrison (together 
with nine cannon and 250 muskets) at Sonora Pass on 
June 15, and then, advancing to Sonora itself, defeated 
Castro and his troops. The Mexican rule being thus 
completely crushed, an American Government was 
formed, with Fremont for its head, on the 4th of July. 
On the 7th, Commodore Sloat, then in command of the 
squadron in the Pacific, bombarded and captured the 
Californian town of Monterey, and, on the 9th, Commo- 
dore Montgomery took possession of San Francisco. 
Fremont, being joined some time after by Commodore 
Stockton, seized the city of Los Angeles on August 17. 
It was here that he was found by General Kearney at 
the close of the year, and that officer took part with the 
other two in the final struggle — the battle of San Gabriel, 
which was fought on January 8, 1847, and which com- 
pleted the conquest of California, after some vain efforts 
on the part of the Mexicans to restore their sovereignty. 
In January, 1847, General Scott arrived before Vera 
Cruz, for the purpose of invading Mexico from that 
point. Being General-in-Chief of the whole American 
army, he took command of all the forces in Mexico, and 
directed General Taylor to send a large number of 
his best officers and troops to join the contemplated 
expedition. Taylor was thus left at Victoria with not 
more than 5000 men in all, of whom only 500 were 
regulars, to guard a line extending from Matamoras 
to Agua Nueva; while in his front was an army of 




^^ff:S?rnr, 



Jl'tfi ^' 



266 THE BATTLES OF AMERICA. 

2Q<yyd^ stationed at San Luis Potosi under Santa 
Anna. On February 4, Generals Taylor and Wool 
united their forces at Agua Nueva, 20 miles south 
of Saltillo, on the San Luis road. The adversary 
was now advancing in force, and Taylor, disregard- 
ing the numerical weakness of his army, determined 
to accept battle. He considered it advisable, how- 
ever, to select a favorable spot in which to meet 
the enemy, and therefore, on February 21, fell back 
to BuENA Vista, at a distance of 1 1 miles from Saltillo, 
where he drew up in battle-order on an elevated pla- 
teau among the mountains, skirted on the west by 
impassable ravines, and on the east by a succession 
of rugged heights. The Mexicans were seen approach- 
ing about noon on the 22d, Some fighting followed in 
the afternoon, when our troops advanced to battle with 
the cry, " The Memory of Washington ! " The prin- 
cipal conflict took place on February 23. The battle 
lasted from morning until sunset. Towards the close of 
the day, a desperate assault upon the centre, commanded 
by Taylor himself, was made by Santa Anna. It was 
withstood with extraordinary firmness and resolution, 
and, the artillery being brought into effective operation, 
the Mexicans were hurled back. The Mexicans with- 
drew during the nrght, leaving their dead and wounded 
behind them, and it was afterwards ascertained that 
they had lost 1500 men. In their flight many perished 
of hunger, thirst and fatigue. Our loss, in killed, 
wounded, and missing, was 746, of whom 28 officers 
were killed on the field. The victory was not only 
important in itself; it had the still more valuable con- 
sequence of breaking up the army of Santa Anna. The 
frontier of the Rio Grande being now secured, Scott was 
able to turn his whole attention to the capture of Vera 
Cruz. In the following September, Taylor returned 
home, leaving General Worth in command of his de- 



268 THE BATTLES OF AMERICA. 

tachment. On the day that was distinguished by the 
great battle of Buena Vista, General Minon, with 800 
cavalry, was driven from Saltillo by Captain Webster. 
Oa the 26th a number of Mexicans were defeated at 
Agua Frio; and on March 7 Major Giddings was suc- 
cessful against the enemy at Ceralvo. 

Some operations were directed against the Mexican 
province of Chihuahua. Early in December, 1846, 
a force consisting of 900 men, under Colonel Doniphan, 
marched more than lOOO miles through the enemy's 
country, fighting two battles against superior forces, and 
in both instances prevailing. The battle of Bracito, on 
the east bank of the Rio Grande, was fought on Christ- 
mas Day, and resulted in the capture of El Paso, situated 
in a valley 30 miles south of Bracito, on the opposite side 
of the river. This action was followed, on February 28, 
1847, by the battle of Sacramento. The scene of the 
latter conflict was a small stream about 20 miles north 
of Chihuahua, a city containing at that time more than 
40,000 inhabitants. The surrender of this place ensued 
shortly afterwards, and Doniphan, planting the flag of 
the United States upon its citadel on March 2, took 
possession of the whole province in the name of the 
Government. Having stayed there six weeks, he joined 
General Wool at Saltillo ; and by these brilliant feats 
all the northern parts of Mexico were placed in our 
possession. 

The great purpose of the campaign had now been ac- 
complished, and the capital of Central Mexico had 
fallen. The heaviest blow which Mexico had experi- 
enced had now fallen on her ; and never before had so 
marked an evidence of her weakness been exhibited to 
the world. A mere handful of undisciplined Volunteers 
had marched triumphantly through her northern prov- 
inces: some of her most accomplished generals, and the 
most intelligent of her troops, had been met and over- 



THE MEXICAN WAR. 



269 



come; and the colors of her enemy floated in triumph 
over the capitals of New Mexico, Alta California, and 
Chihuahua. 

Vera Cruz. — It was hoped to bring the Mexicans to 
terms by operating on their remoter provinces ; but, as 
they showed no signs of yielding, it was resolved to 
subjugate the whole country, and strike at the very 
capital itself This was the plan which Scott undertook 
to carry out, and the first step towards its realization 
was to be the capture of Vera Cruz, the principal sea- 
port of Mexico, built on the spot where Cortez first 
landed on Mexican territory. The city was regarded as 
the key to the entire realm, and was certainly a position 
of first-class importance. It was defended by the for- 
tress of San Juan d'UUoa, situated on an island or reef 
not more than 400 fathoms from the shore. The for- 
tress was exceedingly strong, and by the Mexicans was 
supposed to be impregnable. Scott collected his forces 
at Lobos Island, 125 miles north of Vera Cruz, and 
thence sailed in the squadron of Commodore Connor 
for his place of destination, On March 9, 1847, ^^ 
landed near Vera Cruz, with an army of 13,000 men. 
The city was invested on the 13th, and five days later 
the town and fortress were summoned to surrender. 
This being refused, the trenches were at once completed, 
and on the 22d the first batteries opened fire, at a dis- 
tance of 800 yards from the city. The attack was aided 
by the guns of the fleet, and answered by the artillery 
of the city and castle. Until the morning of the 26th, 
this horrible storm of destruction glared and clamored 
to and fro between the besiegers and the besieged, caus- 
ing a large destruction of property in the city 
and the loss of many lives. Arrangements were then 
commenced for an assault, when the governor of Vera 
Cruz made overtures of surrender. On the night of the 



270 



THE BATTLES OF AMERICA. 



27th articles of capitulation were signed, and on the 29th 
the city, the castle of San Juan d'UlIoa, 5000 prisoners 
and 500 pieces of artillery were given up. 

In spite of the numerous successes, the position of 
our troops was difficult and perilous. They were 
hated by the Mexicans, who, regarding them as oppressors 
and heretics, strove wildly to throw off their yoke. A 
revolt against the alien government broke out in New 
Mexico in January, 1847. Governor Bent and others 
were murdered at Fernando de Taos on the 19th, and 
massacres occurred in other places as well. A large 
body of insurgents assembled in arms, and it was found 
necessary to despatch a force against them. They were 
defeated and dispersed ; but, although suppressed in 
its outward manifestations, the feeling of bitter opposi- 
tion did not cease to exist. Our Government was im- 
pressed with the desirability of a speedy peace, if it 
could be obtained on favorable terms. Towards the 
end of 1846, overtures of this nature were made to the 
Mexican authorities, but they still thought they could 
vanquish their antagonists, and the war went on. Santa 
Anna accepted the Presidency on December 6, 1846, 
but, leaving the conduct of political affairs to the Vice- 
President, he placed himself at the head of the army. 
After his defeat by Taylor at Buena Vista on the 22d 
and 23d of February, 1847, he took up a position at 
Cerro Gordo, a narrow pass at the foot of the eastern 
chain of the Cordilleras, to the north-west of Vera Cruz. 
Here he strongly fortified himself at points which domi- 
nate the only road leading through the mountain fast- 
nesses into the country beyond. He had with him a 
large force of men and several pieces of cannon ; and to 
dislodge him from this post would evidently be a work 
of difficulty. Scott did not shrink from attempting it. 
On April 8 he sent forward the advanced guard of his 
army, under General Twiggs. Leaving a garrison at 



THE MEXICAN WAR. 



271 



Vera Cruz, Scott himself followed with the mam body, 
about 8500 strong. The assault was made on the morn- 
ing of April 18, when, after much hard fighting, every 
one of the Mexican positions was taken by storm, and 
3000 prisoners, 43 pieces of bronze artillery, 5000 stand 
of arms, and all the munitions and materials of the 
opposing army were captured. Santa Anna, who, be- 
fore the battle, had boasted that he would die fighting 
rather than yield, was glad to escape on a mule, leaving 
his papers and his wooden leg behind him. 

Continuing their march towards the metropolis, the 
victorious army entered Jalapa on the 19th, and on the 
22d the castle of Perote, situated about 90 miles in a 
direct line north-west of Vera Cruz, surrendered without 
any resistance, together with a large number of cannon, 
and many warlike stores. Scott again pushed on, and 
on May 15 the advance, under General Worth, entered 
the city of Puebla, which, though walled and fortified, 
made no opposition to the conquering hosts. The in- 
vading army was now to the south-east of the capital, 
and the reduction of that city had yet to be effected. 
It was necessary to allow the soldiers some rest, for 
their labors had been extreme, and they had, in the 
course of two months, gained a series of brilliant vic- 
tories, and carried dismay into the very heart of Mexico. 
In that brief period they had captured several fortified 
places, scattered the ranks of the enemy, made io,000 
prisoners, and taken 700 pieces of artillery, 10,000 stand 
of arms, and 30,000 shells and cannon-balls. These re- 
sults were due partly to the weakness of the enemy, 
but in a greater degree to the valor, discipline, and per- 
severence of our soldiers. The difficulties encountered 
were enormous. The mountainous character of the 
country made it perplexing for an invader, and propor- 
tionately easy of defence. Another adverse influence 
was the climate; and the number of strong fortresses to 



272 



THE BATTLES OF AMERICA. 



be taken added to the troublesome nature of the task. 
Yet all these obstacles were overcome by the skill of 
General Scott and his companions; and for the present 
they recruited themselves at Puebla. 

Santa Anna had concentrated the larger number 
of his troops at El Penon and Mexicalcingo, v^here 
he had raised a line of fortifications which it would 
not have been easy to carry. On this account Scott, 
after a reconnoissance on the 14th, resolved to di- 
verge from the main road; and by the i8th the entire 
army had reached St. Augustine, ten miles from the 
city of Mexico. In this change of position, the right 
flank of our divisions were protected by the lakes round 
which they marched, so that there was no danger of a 
sudden attack. We had in front the fortress of St. An- 
tonio, while we were at the same time threatened by 
the battlements crowning the heights of Churubusco, 
by the fortified camp of Contreras, where General Val- 
encia lay with 6000 troops, and by the army under 
Santa Anna, stationed in the position already described. 

General Worth established himself in the Hacienda 
of Bureo on August 18, and from this point could see 
the enemy at work upon his batteries. The Mexicans 
opened on the advancing columns, but little was done 
until the 19th, when the fire was so hot that our troops 
were compelled to shelter themselves behind the farm 
buildings. Several attempts were made to dislodge the 
Mexicans from their position, but without success. 
Violent rain was now falling, and the troops, being ill- 
equipped, were obliged to bivouac for the night without 
any blankets. On the following morning, however, the 
batteries in the vicinity of Contreras were carried by 
assault, and, after only seventeen minutes' fighting, were 
in our hands. In this brief but fiery passage of arms, 
the Mexicans lost 700 killed, numerous pieces of artil- 
lery, and 1500 prisoners. .At the same time, Scott him- 



THE MEXICAN WAR. 



273 



self, in a prolonged and sanguinary action, carried the 
heights of Churubusco. The main body of the army 
now pushed on towards the capital ; but Worth was 
ordered to remain behind, and effect the capture of St. 




PRESIDENT JAMES K. POLK. 



Antonio. The place was held by 15,000 Mexicans, 
while Worth had only 6000 troops at his disposal. 
Nevertheless, the position was taken, after two hours' 
fighting. The garrison were much cut up in their 



274 



THE BATTLES OF AMERICA. 



retreat, and the Mexican cause now looked so hopeless 
that a truce, proposed by Scott, was gladly accepted, 
with a view to negotiations for peace. 

There were now but few positions remaining be- 
tween the advancing ranks of the invaders and the 
metropolis of Mexico itself On September 8, Scott, 
not waiting for the termination of the armistice on 
the later date, attacked the position called El Moli- 
Nos DEL Rey (the King's Mills), near Chepultepec. 
The post was one of much strength, and is said to 
have been held by 14,000 Mexicans, under the im- 
mediate command of Santa Anna, while the attack- 
ing force consisted of scarcely 4000. In the first 
instance, we were driven back with great slaughter; 
but, on rallying, we carried the position, after a desperate 
conflict of an hour. The Mexican loss was nearly a 
1000; our own loss was over 800. On the same 
morning, the Casa de Mata, another of the principal 
outer defences of Chepultepec, was also stormed and 
carried ; and the castle itself, situated on a rocky height, 
150 feet above the adjacent ground, was now the only 
obstacle which remained to be overcome before the 
victorious legions should plant their flag within the 
capital itself 

The situation of the Mexican metropolis is peculiar. 
It stands in the centre of a wide plain surrounded by 
mountains, a portion of which plain is occupied by four 
lakes. The surface of three of the lakes is above the 
level of the city, while the other is only a few feet 
below it. In the rainy season, the rush of water from 
the neighboring mountains is so great that the lakes 
overflow, and convert the land about the capital into a 
marsh. The approaches to Mexico are by long narrow 
causeways leading to the several gates ; and these 
causeways were in 1847 defended by the fortified post 
which our troops carried before them in such rapid 



THE MEXICAN WAR. 



275 



succession. Before the final operations, Santa Anna 
issued an address to the inhabitants of Mexico, in 
which he said : — " The enemy proclaimed that he would 
propose to us a peace honorable for both nations, * * * 
but our enemies set up measureless pretensions, which 
would have destroyed the Republic, and converted it 
into a miserable colony of the United States." 

Several batteries were raised by Scott against the 
castle of Chepultepec on the night of September 11, 
and a heavy bombardment was opened on the 12th. 
This was followed on the 13th by an assault, in which 
the attacking forces drove the defenders from all their 
positions, and obtained complete possession of the for- 
tress. The Mexicans fled towards the city, pursued by 
General Quitman. Fighting was renewed during the 
day on the lines of the great causeways ; but by night- 
fall one division of our army had reached the suburbs 
of Mexico, while another had penetrated within the 
gates. Santa Anna, the remains of his army, and the 
officers of the Government, sought refuge in flight ; and 
early on the morning of September 14, a deputation 
from the municipal authorities waited upon General 
Scott, and begged him to spare the town, and once 
more enter on negotiations for peace. Scott was not 
then willing to discuss terms of submission. He had 
expended a large amount of life in reaching the metrop- 
olis of the republic, and he resolved to humble the 
pride of the enemy by entering in force into the ancient 
capital of the Mexican dominions. He accordingly di- 
rected Generals Worth and Quitman to move forward 
along two of the chief causeways, and plant the flag 
of the United States upon the National Palace. Gen- 
eral Scott entered at the head of his staff, accompanied 
by a squadron of cavalry, at ten o'clock in the morning, 
and in the Grand Plaza, or large public square, in the 
principal part of the city, took formal possession of the 



276 THE BATTLES OF AMERICA. 

conquered metropolis, where the stars and stripes were 
waving in triumph over the palace of the Montezumas. 
It was a moment of pride and exultation for all con- 
cerned, which, when the news came to be known, sent a 
glow of satisfaction through the popular heart. 

Peace negotiations terminated on February 2, 1848. 
This treaty was proclaimed in the United States on the 
4th of July by President Polk, and the long quarrel be- 
tween the two republics was brought to an end. Among 
the chief stipulations of this agreement were the evacua- 
tion of Mexico by the American armies within three 
months; the payment of three millions of dollars in hand, 
and of twelve millions more in four annual instalments, 
by the United States to Mexico, on account of the ceded 
territory ; and the assumption by the former of certain 
debts due to their citizens, to the amount of three and 
one- half millions of dollars. Fresh boundaries between 
the two countries were determined on ; New Mexico and 
Upper Califorina were handed over to us; and the free 
navigation of the Gulf of California, and of the river 
Colorado up to the mouth of the Gila, was guaranteed 
to the United States. The old dominion of the Monte- 
zumas was thus curtailed. The realm which Cortes 
added to the Spanish Monarchy was reduced to com- 
paratively small proportions. A singularly successful 
war had terminated in a peace which brought sub- 
stantial advantages to the conquerors; and the con- 
quered, left to the influence of domestic factions, fell 
back into that condition of anarchy which with them 
seems chronic and incurable. 



[The Battles for the Union during the Civil War, extending from 
1861 to 1865, forms a second volume in Altemus' Historical Series.'] 



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